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Toad Lily🌷
Tricyrtis hirta
ホトトギス
A perennial in the lily family, endemic to Japan and native to semi-shaded forest edges and cliffs in western Honshū, Shikoku, and Kyūshū. From summer to autumn, funnel-shaped white flowers with purple speckles open upward in the leaf axils — the dotted pattern resembling the breast of the lesser cuckoo (hototogisu) that gives it its name. A classic tea-ceremony and wildflower garden plant. Stems and leaves are covered with coarse hairs.
Identification Points
- ✓Funnel-shaped white flowers with purple speckles
- ✓Flowers open upward in leaf axils
- ✓Stems and leaves densely covered with coarse hairs
Habitat
Mountain forest edges and cliffs (semi-shade)
Season
August to October (flowers)
Morphological TraitsAI-estimated, needs verification
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf type
Simple
Venation
Parallel
Leaf shape
Ovate
Growth form
Herb
Flower color
White
Flowering season
Autumn
Habitat
Mountain
Ovary position
Superior
Phylogenetic Positionユリ科 →
Phylogenetic Position
Angiosperms > Monocots > Liliales > Liliaceae
Divergence Era
Late Cretaceous
Sources & References
AI-generated, needs verification