Leontopodium japonicum

Leontopodium japonicum or Usuyukisou (scientific name: Leontopodium japonicum) is a hardy perennial in the family Asteraceae native to Japan and China. It is native to the low-mountain to subalpine zone in Hokkaido and Kyushu. It produces rosette leaves and upright flower stalks from the rhizome. What look like white flowers are bracts. The Japanese name was given to it because of the dense white hairs on the whole grass, which resemble light snow. The white hairs of L. japonicum is thinner than Edelweiss (scientific name:Leontopodium nivale). The head flower is only a yellow cylindrical flower, which is bisexual in the center and surrounded by female flowers. The surrounding female flowers fructify.

Common Name: Leontopodium japonicum, Scientific Name: Leontopodium japonicum, Country of origin: Japan and China, Distribution: low mountains to subalpine in Hokkaido, living Type: Cold-resistant perennial, Height: 15-30 cm, Inflorescence: alternate, Leaf shape: capitate, Leaf margin: full margin, bisexual flowers (in the central head), female flowers (around the head), Inflorescence: scattered inflorescence, Corolla: head flower, corolla: yellow, diameter of the head flower: 0.5 cm, Number of leaves: 10-20, Flowering time: mid-June to mid-August, Flower color (actually bracteal color): white.