Codonopsis lanceolata - Bonnet Bellflower

Bonnet Bellflower is a hairless vine or occasionally sparsely hairy on stems and leaves. Roots are usually fusiform-thickened, 10-20 × 1-6 cm. Stems are twining, yellow-green but with purplish shade, more than 100 cm, often branched. Leaves on main stems are alternate, lanceshaped, ovate, or elliptic, 8-14 × 3-7 mm. Usually leaves are 2-4-fascicled on top of branchlets, subopposite or verticillate. Leaf-stalk is 1-5 mm, leaves gray-green below, green above, ovate, narrowly ovate, or elliptic, 3-12 × 1.3-5.5 cm, abaxially rarely hirsute, veins obvious, base flat or sometimes rounded, margin usually entire or sparsely wavy, tip pointed or blunt. Flowers arise singly or paired on top of branchlets. Flower-stalks are 1-9 cm. Sepal cup is adnate to ovary by half, tube hemispherical, sepals ovate or triangular, 1-3 × 0.5-1 cm, entire, pointed, sinus between sepals pointed or gradually becoming broader after anthesis. Flowers are broadly bell-shaped, 2-4 × 2-3.5 cm, shallowly lobed. Lobes are yellow-green or milk-white, with purple spots, deltoid, 0.5-1 cm, revolute. Filaments are subulate, slightly dilated at base, 4-6 mm; anthers 3-5 mm; ovary inferior. Capsule is hemispherical at base, rostrate toward apex, 1.6-3.5 cm in diam. Seeds numerous, brown, winged, seed body oblong or ellipsoid. Bonnet Bellflower is native of China and Japan, often grown as ornamental, used in medicine and flavoring. Flowering: July-August.