Japanese Chestnut (Castanea Crenata) 日本グリ（和栗）

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Finding a still-green chestnut burr on the ground made me look up at the tree above me. The Japanese chestnut (Castanea crenata) is native to Japan and Korea and can be found across Japan. Chestnuts are used for many dishes in Japan, not only sweets but also mixed rice or kuri gohan. 

There are the following types of chestnuts according to Adachi Otoemon, a confectionery shop in Kyoto: 

• Japanese chestnut (Castanea crenata)
• Western chestnut (Castanea sativa)
• Chinese chestnut (Castanea mollissima)
• American chestnut (Castanea dentata)

I want to taste them all to decide which is the sweetest😋!

2026/9/4

Red, White, and Yellow Spider Lily (Lycoris) ヒガンバナ（曼珠沙華/彼岸花）

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Spider lilies are native to China but can be found across Japan. They flower in September and therefore are called "Autumnal equinox flower" in Japanese. Spider lilies are known generally as red flowers (Lycoris radiata) but they produce white (Lycoris albiflora) and yellow (Lycoris traubii) flowers. A white spider lily is not a sibling of a red one, but a cross-breed of a red and a yellow spider lilies. It's interesting that a child of red and yellow flowers is white.

A yellow spider lily is called "Shouki zuisen" in Japanese, translating to "Zhong Kui lily" as its petals look like the beard of Zhong Kui, a demon hunter and Chinese deity who fights ghosts. 

Despite their beauty, red spider lilies are associated with death in Japan for an unfair but understandable reason. Although cremation is the most popular now, burial used to be common in Japan and therefore red spider lilies were planted to keep moles and other animals away from bodies because the plant's bulbs are poisonous. Spider lilies are called "higan bana," meaning "flowers during the higan period." "Higan" is a Buddhist holiday, i.e., three days before and after both the Spring equinox and Autumnal equinox. 

2025/9/26

Orange Sweet Osmanthus (Osmanthus Fragrans Var. Aurantiacus) キンモクセイ（金木犀）

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Orange sweet osmanthus (Osmanthus fragrans var. aurantiacus), a variety of sweet osmanthus, is native to China and came to Japan in the 17th century. As its name suggests, the flowers are so fragrant that orange sweet osmanthus is designated as one of the three most fragrant flowers in Japan together with winter daphne and cape jasmine.

The orange sweet osmanthus has been propagated from cuttings in Japan because only male plants were imported to Japan. 

2025/10/24 Fully open

2025/10/24

Confederate Rose (Hibiscus Mutabilis cv. Versicolor) スイフヨウ（酔芙蓉）

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These are Confederate roses (Hibiscus mutabilis cv. versicolor) and the first five photos are of one flower, taken at 10:00, 12:30, 15:30 and 16:30 on 16 September 2024 and at 5:30 on the following morning. After such a color change from pure white in the morning to pink in the afternoon, this type of Confederate roses is named "sui fuyou," which translates into "drunken Confederate rose."

The sixth and the last ones are red and white marbled. Some Japanese apricot trees produce such colored flowers but (I believe that) a Confederate rose tree producing such flowers is quite unusual. White apricot trees don't exist but red ones produce white or red/white marbled flowers when they cannot produce enough anthocyanins to make flowers red. The same may apply to this hibiscus tree. 

If you want to see peach, Japanese apricot, or lespedeza having white, pink/red or marble-colored flowers on a tree, read the following posts: 

- Red & White Marble Colored Flowering Peach

- Half & Half Colored Japanese Apricot (White & Pink)!

- Lespedeza Japonica Bailey cv. Versicolor (Variegated Bush Clover)

10:00 a.m., 2024/9/16

White Magnolia (Yulan Magnolia) ハクモクレン（白木蓮）

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Yulan magnolia (Magnolia denudata) is native to central and eastern China but now can be found across Japan and in many places in Tokyo. The tree flowers from February to April, the earliest among magnolias growing in Japan. The flower's pure white creates a brilliant contrast against the blue sky.  

2026/3/2

2024/3/12

2022/3/17

Pale Grass Blue (Pseudozizeeria Maha) 大和小灰蝶（ヤマトシジミ）

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A male pale grass blue (Pseudozizeeria maha) butterfly looks completely different when its wings are open (1st photo) and closed (2nd photo). When closed, you may disregard it because it's plain, just a small white butterfly with black spots. When the wings are open, however, you would be surprised by the beautiful pale blue of the upper side of its wings as suggested by the name. (If you want to see the butterfly showing both sides, see the 3rd photo.) Butterflies are known to open their wings to bask in the sun to warm their bodies, so you're more likely to see the beautiful blue in autumn than summer.   

The pale grass blue resembles the plains cupid (Luthrodes pandava) very much except for the latter having orange spots on the wings. I once mistook a plains cupid for a pale grass blue.   

2025/11/2

2026/8/23

Obedient Plant (Physostegia Virginiana) ハナトラノオ（花虎の尾）

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The obedient plant (Physostegia virginiana) is native to North America, came to Japan from 1900 to 1920 for ornamental purposes, and can now be found across Japan, producing purple flowers from August to September. Its flowers from the front reminded me of small skullcaps (Scutellaria indica L. var. parvifolia (Makino) Makino)), but they're not related. 

2026/9/13

Blue Mistflower (Conoclinium Coelestinum) アオイロフジバカマ（青色藤袴）

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The blue mistflower (Conoclinium coelestinum) is native to North America and came to Japan in or after the Meiji period (1868-1912), producing blue flowers from July to October. Its Japanese name is "aoiro fujibakama," which translates into "blue fragrant eupatorium," after its color and resemblance to the fragrant eupatorium flower.

2026/9/13

False Heather (Cuphea Hyssopifolia) メキシコハナヤナギ（墨西哥花柳）

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The false heather (Cuphea hyssopifolia) is native to Mexico and said to have come to Japan from the Meiji to Taisho period (1868-1926).

2026/9/13

Orange Bracket Fungus (Pycnoporus Coccineus) ヒイロタケ（緋色茸）

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Orange bracket fungus (Pycnoporus coccineus) can be found in east Asia, Australia, North and South Americas, and Africa, so across Japan but Hokkaido. The mushroom is not inedible but too hard to eat. The bright orange bracket fungus is used to create natural textile dyes in Japan.

2026/9/13

Bitter Gourd (Momordica Charantia) ゴーヤ（苦瓜）

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Bitter gourds (Momordica charantia) are native to tropical Asia, came to Okinawa, i.e., one of the southern islands in Japan, in the early 15th century, and can now be found across Japan. The gourds are monoecious, which means they produce yellow, male and female flowers from July to August but it's easy to tell because the male has the yellow center while the female has the green center. They usually produce male flowers first to ensure the safe fertilization of the female ones. So, the ratio of male to female in early summer is about 10:1. 

Ripe orange gourds (scroll down) are edible including the red seeds and even jelly like stuff around the seeds. 

2026/8/10  A male flower

2020/8/8  Male and female flowers 雄花と雌花