Katakuri, Dog's tooth violet
Erythronium japonicum

Family: Liliaceae

What it is like

A bulb plant. It grows 16-20 cm tall. It has about 1.3 of its length underground. The bulb is 5-6 cm long by 1 cm wide. There can often be several small bulbs near the base. The leaf stalk is 3-4 cm long. The leaf blade is oval and 10-11 cm long by 2.5-6.5 cm wide. The flowers occur singly. The have long stalks. They are rose purple.

There are about 22 Erythronium species.

Where it is found

It is a temperate plant. It grows in moist places in forests in N China.

Countries/locations it is found in

Asia, China, Japan, Korea

How it is used for food

The bulbs are used for starch. This is used in dumplings, confectionary, fritters, to thicken soups and in other foods. The leaves are used fresh or dried.

Edible parts

Root, bulb, leaves

How it is grown

Its other names

Local names

Olleji, Zhu ya hua

Synonyms

Erythronium dens-canis L. var. japonicum Baker; Erythronium japonicum f. album C.F.Fang; Erythronium japonicum f. immaculatum P.Y.Fu & Q.S. Sun;