Species information
Scientific name: Scutellaria rubropunctata
Japanese name: アカボシタツナミソウ
Chinese name: 斑點黃芩
English name: Scutellaria rubropunctata
Origin: Amami Islands, Okinawa Islands
Ecology and description
Scutellaria rubropunctata is a perennial herb in the mint family that grows at forest edges and in grasslands in the mountains. It is 10–30cm tall, with a stem that creeps along the ground at the base and stands upright above. The triangular-ovate leaves have reddish-brown glandular dots on the underside. It flowers from January to May, producing pale purple to blue-violet flowers in racemes.
In the scientific name, “rubro” means red and “punctata” means spotted. It is occasionally seen on the forest floor, where the flowers look like a row of small trumpets. Some plants have more purple and look darker, and others have whiter flowers.
References:
Botanic.jp アカボシタツナミソウ
Field photographs taken during our tours, with observation dates
