Lagotis glauca

Location: Hakuba Goryu Alpine Botanical Garden
Location: Hakuba Goryu Alpine Botanical Garden

Flower name
Lagotis glauca
Scientific name
Lagotis glauca
Alias得撫草, 浜蓮華, ハマレンゲ, ラゴティス・グラウコサ, 兔耳草
Place of origin from Russia to Japan
Place of floweringHigh mountain
Flowering seasonMay, June

What is Lagotis glauca

Lagotis glauca (Urupsou) is an alpine perennial herb of the family Plantaginaceae, genus Lagotis, distributed from Russia to Japan.
It is also commonly known as Hamarenge (“coastal lotus”) in Japan.
The species migrated to Japan during the Pleistocene glaciation and remained in alpine zones together with Dicentra peregrina (Komakusa) and Pulsatilla nipponica (Tsukumogusa).
In Japan, it occurs in Hokkaido (Rebun Island, Sorachi) and the Northern Alps (Mt. Shirouma, Mt. Yatsugatake), inhabiting alpine screes, gravelly slopes, and occasionally coastal sites in cold regions.

Plants grow 9–40 cm tall.
Leaves are glabrous, glossy, and fleshy, broadly ovate (5–10 cm long), with undulate serrate margins, arranged alternately.
From May to June, erect spikes 15–25 cm long bear numerous bluish-purple bilabiate flowers, with short stamens.
It is listed as Near Threatened (NT) on the Red List of the Ministry of the Environment, Japan.

Common name: Urupsou
Scientific name: Lagotis glauca
Synonyms: Hamarenge, Tokufu-sou, “Rabbit-ear plant” (in Chinese: 兔耳草)
Taxonomy: Kingdom Plantae – Angiosperms – Eudicots – Order Lamiales – Family Plantaginaceae – Genus Lagotis – Species L. glauca
Growth form: Alpine perennial herb
Native range: Russia to Japan
Japanese range: Hokkaido (Rebun Island, Sorachi), Northern Alps (Mt. Shirouma, Mt. Yatsugatake)
Habitat: Alpine zones, cold screes and gravel fields, coastal cliffs
Plant height: 9–40 cm
Leaf texture: fleshy, glabrous, glossy
Leaf shape: broadly ovate, 5–10 cm, undulate-serrate margins, alternate
Flowering season: June–August
Inflorescence: spike, 15–25 cm long
Flower size: 3–5 mm across
Flower form: bilabiate
Flower color: bluish-purple
Stamens: short
Conservation status: Near Threatened (NT, Ministry of the Environment, Japan)

Etymology

The genus name Lagotis is derived from the Greek lagos (“hare”) + ous (“ear”), referring to the calyx lobes split into two resembling rabbit ears, and also to the leaf shape.
The species epithet glauca is the feminine form of the Latin adjective glaucus, meaning “bluish-grey” or “glaucous.”
The Japanese name “Urupsou” originates from Urup Island (Kuril Islands), where the species was first collected.

Related Species
Lagotis yesoensis – endemic to the Daisetsu Mountains (Hokkaido)
Lagotis takedana – endemic to Mt. Yūbari
Lagotis yesoensis f. albiflora – white-flowered form of L. glauca