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Kerria japonica
Also called Japanese rose, Yellow rose, Japanese Kerria, Japan Globeflower, Japanese Globeflower, Jew's Mallow
Kerria japonica is a deciduous shrub in the rose family with arching green stems and golden yellow flowers in spring. It grows best in partial shade and needs pruning after flowering to stay vigorous.
Kerria japonica, commonly known as Japanese kerria or Japanese rose, is a deciduous, yellow-flowering shrub in the rose family (Rosaceae), native to China and Japan. It is the only species in the genus Kerria. In the wild, it grows in thickets on mountain slopes. Japanese kerria has been used for medicine and is also planted in gardens. A double-flowered cultivar, K. japonica 'Pleniflora', is commonly called bachelor's buttons. When cultivated in the Central-Southern U.S., the plant is usually called Yellow Rose of Texas. Although the genus Kerria is in the rose family, it is not a true rose.
Kerria is valued in gardens for its golden yellow flowers, which appear in the spring. It is best grown with some shade from full sunlight to avoid blanching the flowers, and needs to be pruned after flowering to maintain health and vigour. Two cultivars have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit, K. japonica 'Golden guinea' and the double-flowered K. japonica 'Pleniflora', commonly known as bachelor's buttons.
The leaves and roots contain 0.002% hydrogen cyanide, while the tender shoots are a rich source of vitamin C (200 mg per 100 g) and the seeds contain 44.9% protein and 45.3% fat. The flower petals contain the O-methylated flavonoid pectolinarin, (5,7-dihydroxy-4,6-dimethoxyflavone-7-rutinoside), a cytotoxic compound known also as Neolinarin and found also in Linaria species, Kickxia elatine and the Duranta species D. plumieri.
The plant has anti-inflammatory properties and a decoction of the flowering shoots with honey has been used in China in the treatment of coughs and gynecological disorders.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Kerria japonica by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
