Tōteiran Speedwell

This perennial plant (an herbaceous plant that survives two or more years) grows in coastal grasslands and beneath pine forests. In the Oki Islands, it grows in abundance along the coasts and on uninhabited islands in late summer. It is a familiar plant to island residents, and is also found planted in gardens and fields. Its stem stands straight or slanted, around 50–60 cm tall, and the entire plant is covered with white fuzzy hairs, giving it a greenish-white appearance. Against the greenish-white plant body, the spikes of bluish-purple flowers make a beautiful sight. (Spike = many densely clustered flowers on a single shaft in a shape resembling an ear of corn.)