Stephanandra tanakae (Franch. & Sav.) Franch. & Sav.

A deciduous shrub of twiggy habit, up to 6 ft or perhaps more high, with glabrous, slender branches. Leaves broadly ovate or triangular, 2 to 5 in. long and from two-thirds to quite as much wide, the point long and slender, the base rounded or heart-shaped, the margins double-toothed, and frequently with one or two pairs of angular lobes more or less developed near the base, veins hairy when quite young, becoming glabrous; stipules heart-shaped, toothed, 1⁄4 in. long. Flowers yellowish white, produced in June and July in a lax, branching panicle 2 to 4 in. long; each flower 1⁄5 in. across on a stalk about as long; stamens fifteen to twenty. Bot. Mag., t. 7593.

Native of Japan, introduced to Kew in 1893. It differs from S. incisa in the larger, less deeply cut leaves (which turn an orange colour in autumn), in the broader stipules, the more numerous stamens, and in the longer, more slender, and less densely flowered panicles. The flowers become a purer white under sunnier skies than ours. The species is hardier than S. incisa and its stems are brighter brown.