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Rohdea japonica
Also called Sacred Lily Of China
Rohdea japonica is a rhizomatous evergreen perennial from East Asia, grown for its glossy leaves and red winter berries. It is a shade-tolerant, low-maintenance plant that suits shady borders and indoor pots.
Rohdea japonica is a species of plant native to Japan, China and Korea. Common names include Nippon lily, sacred lily, and Japanese sacred lily.
It is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial plant, with fibrous roots. The leaves are evergreen, broad lanceolate, 15–50 cm long and 2.5–7 cm broad, with an acute apex. The flowers are produced in a short, stout, dense spike 3–4 cm long, each flower pale yellowish, 4–5 mm long. This is a rare instance of pollination by snails. The fruit is a red berry 8 mm diameter, produced in a tight cluster of several together.
It is cultivated as an ornamental plant. In Chinese it is called wan nian qing (simplified: 万年青; traditional: 萬年青; lit. "evergreen"), and for this reason has been used symbolically in visual culture (e.g. on Mao badges Archived 2014-08-13 at the Wayback Machine). In Japanese it is called omoto.
The plant is also used in traditional Chinese medicine, though it is generally regarded as inedible and possibly toxic.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Rohdea 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.
