Polygonatum lasianthum

Polygonatum lasianthum belongs to the asparagus family, Asparagaceae. This perennial lives for more than one year. It is native to Korea and Japan, in temperate Asia. In Japan, records list Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu, and Shikoku. It grows in thin woods on low mountains and hills. Kew calls it a rhizomatous geophyte: it grows underground. Plants For A Future gives its height as 2 feet [0.6 metres].

This plant suits a woodland garden or a shaded edge. Plants For A Future lists full shade and part shade. Its landscape notes favour light through leaves over deep shade. It needs moist soil that lets excess water drain. The account lists sand, loam, and clay as suitable soils. Soil can be slightly acid, neutral, or slightly alkaline. These records allow a range of soils in shaded sites.

Each flower has both male and female organs. Bees carry pollen to the flowers. The plant is self-fertile: it can use its own pollen. The evidence gives no firm time of year for bloom. It does not settle flower colour or what fruits look like. Plants For A Future is unsure of hardiness in Britain. It suggests outdoor success based on the plant's native range. But it gives no confirmed hardiness zone for this species. Its wider care notes cover the genus, not this species alone.

Plants For A Future lists leaves, roots, and shoots as edible. Its food prep notes cover young shoots and roots. Cooked young shoots can take the place of asparagus. The roots yield starch; soaking them takes out the bitter taste. The account then says to cook them before eating. It gives no separate way to prepare the leaves. It rates food use at two out of five. It reports no known uses as medicine or for other purposes. The evidence does not show that this species is toxic. This gap does not prove that each plant part is safe.

The notes cover how to grow more plants from seed or division. They advise sowing fresh seed in early autumn under cool glass. Sow stored seed early in the year. Seeds may take time to sprout. Young plants need years to gain size. They spend their first winter in a shaded greenhouse. The notes say to divide plants in March or October. Large parts split off can go straight to their final sites.