Mercurialis leiocarpa; a species of mercury plant used for indigo dye
A plant in the spurge family whose leaves yield a blue dye. The name is sometimes read やまい in older texts, but やまあい is standard.
Yamaai is a plant that was once used for indigo dyeing.
Katakana spelling is common for plant names; usually written in kana.
Kanji spelling; rarely used in practice. The reading やまい is obsolete.
Compound of 山 (yama, 'mountain') and 藍 (ai, 'indigo'), referring to a mountain plant used for indigo dye. The exact historical derivation is uncertain.