Japanese cryptotaenia

A perennial herb of the carrot family native to temperate East Asia, from Vietnam and China through Korea and Japan to Sakhalin, where it grows in moist, shaded woodland and along streamsides. It forms clumps of slender, branching stems 30 to 90 cm tall arising from a short rootstock. The leaves are bright green and divided into three broad, ovate, pointed and toothed leaflets, giving rise to the Japanese name mitsuba ("three leaves"). The small white flowers are borne in loose, sparse compound umbels with unequal rays, a delicate and open inflorescence typical of the genus. The fruit is a narrow, ribbed, oblong schizocarp. The whole plant is aromatic, with a fresh, parsley-like scent, and the tender leaves, stalks and stems are widely cultivated and gathered as a culinary herb. It thrives in cool, humid, shaded conditions on rich, moist soils.