also: るこうそう
cypress vine; cardinal creeper
A flowering vine (Ipomoea quamoclit) with delicate, feathery foliage and small red, pink, or white star-shaped flowers. Often grown as an ornamental annual in Japan.
The cypress vine is twining around the garden fence and blooming with red flowers.
The cypress vine produces star-shaped flowers one after another from summer to autumn.
Hiragana spelling, also common.
Kanji form; rarely used in practice.
Alternate kanji form; it is rarely used.
Borrowed from Chinese 縷紅草, literally “thread-red herb,” a name referring to the plant’s finely divided foliage and red flowers.