Paris sessiliflora

Paris tetraphylla f. sessiliflora

Flower name
Paris sessiliflora
Scientific name
Paris tetraphylla f. sessiliflora
Alias横倉衝羽根
Place of originendemic to Japan
Place of floweringHigh mountain, Sub-alpine
Flowering seasonMay, June, July, August

What is Paris sessiliflora

Paris sessiliflora or Yokogura-tsukubane (scientific name: Paris tetraphylla f. sessiliflora) is a perennial herb of the family Melanthiaceae and is endemic to Japan. It is distributed in deep mountain forests such as Yokokurayama, Tebakoyama, and Kenzan in Shikoku. The grass is 15 to 40 cm tall. The leaves are petiole-less, 5-20 cm long, oblong-ovate, with pointed tips and three conspicuous veins, and have four leaflets in a ring. From May to August, it produces a single green flower with a diameter of 5 cm and almost no petiole. The flower has 4 sepals, a stamen and 8 yellow anthers, and the pistil of the pistil is quadrangular. In the fall after flowering, spherical berries about 1 cm in diameter ripen to black.

The Japanese flower name "Yogokura" comes from the name given by Dr. Tomitaro Makino, who discovered the plant in his hometown, Yokogurayama (Kochi-cho) in Kochi Prefecture, and "tsukubane" is derived from the name of the plant's ringed leaves, which resemble feathers of a shuttlecock.
The species name "sessiliflora" is a compound of "sessilil" (no flower stalks) and "flora" (fllower) and refers to the fact that it has almost no flower stalks.
It is listed as Ehime Prefecture Endangered Species 1B (EN).

Difference between "P. tetraphylla" and "P. tetraphylla f. sessiliflora"
The only difference between the two is the length of the peduncle.

P. tetraphylla - long peduncle (3-10 cm long)
P. tetraphylla f. sessiliflora - almost no peduncle.

Common name: Paris sessiliflora or Yokogura-tsukubane (scientific name: Paris tetraphylla f. sessiliflora, origin: Japan, habitat: Northern Shikoku, habitat: Yokogurayama, Tebakoyama, Habitat: In deep mountain forests such as Mt. Yokogurayama, Mt. Tebakoyama, and Mt, Kenzan; Life form: Perennial; Herb height: 15-40 cm, Flowering season: May-August, Flower: green, Petiole: almost absent, Flower: 1, Flower diameter: 1-2 cm, Sepals: 4, Flower stalk: quadrate, Stamens and yellow anthers: 8, Cotyledons: green to blackish purple, Fruit shape: globular, Fruit shape: spherical; fruit color: black ripe; remarks: Ehime Endangered Species 1B (EN).