They are a perennial climbing plant that ordinarily grows in the pool of the forests and in the forests at the mountain area (Perennial plant takes several years to grow). As a big rootstalk resembles Panax ginseng, they are named. The dots inside of the flower petals are likened as granddad’s skin spots, and consequently they have another name ‘Codonopsis lanceolata Trautv.’ (Jii-sobu: Sobu means dialect name for skin spots in Kiso region). The flower is bell contour shape about 2.5 to 3 cm long, and the flowers bloom downward at the top of a lateral branch. The flowers are tinged with green white with the inside tinged with purple patterns and the tip of the flower petal is split into 5 and rolled back. The leaf is long egged-shaped about 3 to 10 cm with the sharp tip, and soft feeling to touch with the back in powdery white. When damaged, the stem and the leaves produce the white fluid that smells so horrible When the flowers wither, they bear the star-shaped seeds about 2 cm in diameter. Matured seeds are split out to let the brown seedlings with wing-like.

●Season Early September to about Mid October
●Height Vines
●Place Ura-Takao,Oku-Takao