Mitsuba is the aromatic leaf of Cryptotaenia japonica, a shade-loving perennial of the carrot family (Apiaceae) native to Japan and the wider East Asian temperate forest, and one of the few truly indigenous Japanese kitchen herbs. Its name means "three leaves," for the trio of light-green leaflets carried on each thin stem, and its flavour reads as a gentle cross of parsley, celery and chervil with a faint clean bitterness. Prized for its delicacy rather than any punch, it is used almost entirely as a fresh garnish — a few leaves floated on clear soup, slipped into steamed chawanmushi custard, or dressed as ohitashi — added at the very last moment because heat quickly collapses its scent. It is often called Japanese wild parsley, Japanese honewort or, loosely, trefoil.