旱蓮

By surface analysis, a compound of 旱(かん) (kan, “drought, dry weather”) + 蓮(れん) (ren, “lotus”). Appears to be a learned borrowing from Chinese 旱蓮 (literally “dry-land + lotus”, distinct from the regular lotus that grows in bodies of water), possibly via Chinese medicine.

• IPA^(key): [kã̠n̺ɾẽ̞ɴ]

旱(かん)蓮(れん) • (kanren) 

1. clipping of 旱蓮草 (kanrensō): Chinese medicine name for 高三郎 (takasaburō), Eclipta prostrata or the false daisy
2. clipping of 旱蓮木 (kanrenboku): Camptotheca acuminata, known variously as the cancer tree, tree of joy, happy tree

• As with many terms that name organisms, this term is often spelled in katakana, especially in biological contexts (where katakana is customary), as カンレン (kanren).