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"Sarasina-shoma" (Cimicifuga simplex) belongs to Ranunculaceae (the Buttercup family). It is a perennial herb that is distributed not only in various parts of Japan, but also in northeastern China, the Kuril Islands, Sakhalin, and the Kamchatka Peninsula. This herb grows in foothills and mountains and can reach 60-120 cm in height. The leaves are biternate to triternate compound with ovate leaflets. The leaflets have irregular toothed edges. The spikes are borne on the stem apices and bloom white flowers. The petals shed early thought the sepals remain for a long time. The Chinese name is "升麻", but the Japanese name "晒菜升麻" comes from the fact that the young greens are boiled, bleached in water, and used for food.
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