• Scientific Name: Phtheirospermum japonicum (Thunb.) Kanitz
• Ref: Exp. Asiae Orient. 12. 1878
• Synonyms: Centrantheropsis rigida Bonati; Gerardia japonica Thunb.; Phtheirospermum chinense Bunge ex Fisch. & C.A.Mey.
• Chinese Common Name: 松蒿 sōnghāo
• Japanese Common Name: コシオガマ [小塩竈] koshiogama
• Family: Scrophulariaceae
• Genus: Phtheirospermum
• Distribution: Shady places in thickets on mountain slopes; 100-1900 m. throughout China except Xinjiang [Japan, Korea, Russia (Far East)].
• Photo: 10/16/2010, Baizhang Ridge, Zhejiang

Annuals, (5-)60-100 cm tall. Stems erect or curved and ascending, usually much branched. Leaves opposite; petiole 5-12 mm, narrowly winged; leaf blade narrowly triangular-ovate, 1.5-5.5 X 0.8-3 cm, pinnately parted to pinnatisect; pinnae narrowly ovate to ovate-orbicular, 4-10 X 2-5 mm, base suboblique, margin double serrate or parted. Pedicel 2-7 mm. Calyx 4-10 mm; lobes lanceolate, 2-6 X 1-3 mm, foliaceous, pinnately parted. Corolla pale red to purple-red, 0.8-2.5 cm, outside villous; lower lobes obtuse; upper lobes triangular-ovate. Filaments basally pilose. Capsule 6-10 mm. Seeds flattened, ca. 1.2 mm. Fl. and fr. Jun-Oct. (Flora of China)