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"Hiyoku-so" (Veronica melissaefolia) belongs to Scrophulariaceae (the Figwort family). It is a perennial herb that is distributed from Hokkaido to Honshu and Shikoku in Japan. It grows in sunny forest margins and grasslands in mountainous areas and is 30-60 cm tall. The leaves are ovate, irregularly serrated, and grow in pairs. From June to July, long paired inflorescences emerge from the leaf axils and produce pale purple flowers. The Japanese name is derived from a line in the "長恨歌" (Chang Hen Ge) by the Tang Dynasty poet Bai Juyi: "在天願作比翼鳥在地願為連理枝" (zai tian yuan zuo bi yi niao, zai di yuan wei lian li zhi), (I would like to be a bird in the sky and a branch on earth).
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