They are a deciduous shrub that grows wild at such humid places as in the pool of the forests along the mountain streams in the mountain area. The trunk grows together in cluster and is branched so often. Cortex of the young trees is smooth feeling to touch and shiny green color, while once grown ole trees turn into dark bistered. The characteristic is a small flower bloom in the middle of the leaf and people have used this appearance to resemble the one of a raft that looks like a leaf with a flower on it. This is how they are named. The leaves are wide elliptically-shaped about 6 to 12 cm long with thin and long sawtooth (Kyoshi: tooth-like rough part like a saw at the root of a leaf) at the edge. The blossom seasons are about May to June and hermaphroditism plant (Shiyuudousyu). On the main vein of the surface of the leaf, 1 female flower and several of male flowers gather to sprout. The flowers are pale green, about 5 mm long in diameter. The seeds are a spherical shape about 0.7 to 1 cm in diameter, and get matured to black-purple in August to October. The seeds taste sweet and young leaves are edible as Tempura and boiled leaves dish (Ohitashi).

●Height about 1 to 3 m
●Place Trail 4, Trail 6, Ura-Takao