わが国の各地をはじめ、東南アジアに広く分布しています。日当たりのよい湿地に生え、高さは50センチほどになります。茎は直立し、長楕円形の葉が対生します。葉脈はふつう三行脈です。8月から10月ごろ、茎の先の花序に淡い紅紫色の花を咲かせます。花色の差も大きく、濃い紅紫色から白色まであります。「ひよどりばな(鵯花)」に比べて、草丈や葉が小さいこと、花が紅紫色を帯びることなどが特徴です。台湾華語では「林氏澤蘭」、中国語では「林澤蘭(lin ze lan)」と呼ばれます。
The "Sawa-hiyodori" (Eupatorium lindleyanum) belongs to Asteraceae (the Aster family). It is a perennial herb that is distributed widely to Japan, as well as Southeast Asia. This herb grows in sunny marshes and can reach about 50 cm in height. The stems are erect, and the leaves are oblong and arranged in opposite. The veins are usually trinerved. The pale magenta flower-heads bloom at the clusters of terminal stems from August to October. The flower-colors differ greatly in individuals, over a range of dark magenta and white. It is defined by shorter plant length and smaller leaves than "Hiyodori-bana" (Eupatorium chinense). In Taiwanese Chinese, it is called "林氏澤蘭", and in Chinese "林澤蘭" (lin ze lan).