キク科ツワブキ属の常緑多年草で、学名は Farfugium japonicum。英名は Japanese silver leaf。
The Japanese silver leaf (Farfugium japonicum) belongs to Asteraceae (the Aster family). It is an evergreen herb that is disrtibuted southward Ishikawa and Fukushima prefecture of Honshu to Shikoku, Kyushu in Japan, as well as Taiwan, the Korean Peninsula and China. This herb grows in the coastal areas and fascicled kidney-round glossy leaves with long petioles. Yellow flowers come in October to December. The stems are used for food, the leaves and roots are used for herbal medicine. The Japanese name is said to come from the glossiness of the leaves, which is pronounced "tsuya-buki", and then "tsuwa-buki". In Taiwanese, it is called "山菊", and in Chinese, it is called "大呉風草" (da wu feng cao).