Chinese milk vetch; Astragalus sinicus
A flowering plant often grown as green manure in rice paddies; the name is usually written in kana.
In spring, the rice paddies are covered with Chinese milk vetch flowers.
Usually written in kana; the kanji forms 紫雲英 and 翹揺 are rare and mainly botanical.
Katakana spelling, sometimes used in botanical contexts or for emphasis.
Rare kanji form; the characters mean 'purple cloud flower' and are mainly used in botanical or literary contexts.
Very rare kanji form; it is rarely used.
The origin is uncertain; the kanji 紫雲英 literally means 'purple cloud flower', likely a descriptive Chinese name for the plant.