Lily (Lilium) ユリ（百合）

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Lilies are native to Asia, Europe, and North America. There are more than 100 wild species around the world and 15 in Japan, producing flowers in various colors from May to August in Japan, of which I've seen pale pink, yellow (scroll down), red (Blackout red), and orange (Thunberg orange). The lily bulb (mainly the Maximowicz's lily's [Lilium leichtlinii]) is edible, often steamed, sauteed or deep-fried (i.e., tempura), as a seasonal delicacy in Japan. So, if you have a chance to come to Japan in winter, don't miss eating lily bulb or "yurine" TEMPURA to enjoy its soft and fluffy texture.  

The lily's Japanese name is "yuri" after the term "yusuri," which means shaking or trembling, because lilies shake and/or tremble in the wind as their stems are thin but the flowers are big.

2026/6/19

Oriental Beetle (Anomala Orientalis) セマダラコガネ（背斑金亀子）

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The oriental beetle (Anomala orientalis) is native to the Philippines and/or Japan and can be found across Japan. Its Japanese name is "semadara kogane," which translates into "Japanese beetle with spots on the back," well describing its features, doesn't it? 

The beetle wasn't a major pest in Japan but it's been known as a garden pest in other countries. A byproduct of globalization. 

2026/6/19

2026/6/19

Cabbage White Butterfly モンシロチョウ（紋白蝶）

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The cabbage white butterfly (Pieris rapae) is native to Europe, Asia, and North Africa, believed to come to Japan before the Edo period (1603-1868). 

Although its English name and Japanese name (which translates into "spot white butterfly") both include the term "white," the male cabbage white butterflies are yellowish. Also, according to Kubota Corporation's website (in Japanese only), the butterflies can tell the male from the female by the wing color because they can see ultraviolet light. The female's wing, which reflects ultraviolet light, looks brighter than the male's wing, which absorbs the light. 

2026/6/19 Likely a female

Cape Jasmine (Gardenia Jasminoides) クチナシ（梔子）

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The cape jasmine (Gardenia jasminoides) is native to eastern Asia and can be found across Japan, producing single and double flowered blooms from June to July in Tokyo. When its buds start to open, their green bases are still visible, which gives the blooms a beautiful color accent.

Cape jasmine's Japanese name is "kuchi nashi," which translates into "no mouth," because the fruits (scroll down) don't crack even after ripening. The fruits are used to give a yellow color (unexpected from the flower's white) to food, such as kuri kinton or mashed sweet potato with chestnuts, one of the traditional Japanese New Year foods. 

Double flowered cape jasmine rarely produces fruits because most of their stamens have transformed into petals like some species of the Japanese camellia. 

2026/6/17

Loosestrife (Lythrum Anceps) ミソハギ（禊萩）

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The loosestrife (Lythrum anceps) is native to eastern Asia and can be found across Japan. The plant produces pink flowers from July to September and is special in Japan, often placed on the family grave during the Obon period (mid-July or mid-August depending on areas). The Lythrum anceps resembles purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) very much, although the latter is designated as an invasive species in some countries.

2024/8/5

European Lime (Tilia x Europaea) セイヨウシナノキ（西洋科の木）

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The linden (Tilia) is native throughout most of the temperate Northern Hemisphere and Japan has also its native one but most of the linden trees you would see in Tokyo and other cities in Japan are European ones or common linden. Common linden trees produce flowers from May to June in Tokyo and after that fruits, which turn brown toward autumn. The long strap shaped things are bracts, i.e., modified leaves, which help the seeds spin and disperse efficiently in the wind.

 

2026/6/17

Hollyhock (Alcea Rosea) 立葵（タチアオイ）

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Hollyhocks (Alcea rosea) are native to Turkey and East Europe but can be found across Japan. The plant produces single and double flowered white, pink, purple, and red flowers (scroll down!) from June to August in Tokyo. Their Japanese name is "tachi aoi," which translates into "standing mallow," and mallows have a special connotation in Japan. 

"Mitsuba aoi," which translates to "three leafed mallow," is the crest of the Tokugawa clan, who ruled Japan during the Edo period (1603-1868). This is known nationwide even now because of a long run "samurai" television program about Mitsukuni Tokugawa (1628-1701), one of the grandchildren of Ieyasu Tokugawa, the founder and first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. This period drama was aired initially from 1969 to 2011 and is still rerun now.   

In the drama, Mitsukuni travels throughout the country incognito to discover and investigate injustice and in the end defeats and punishes corrupt samurai and merchants. At the end of each episode, Mitsukuni (or more specifically, one of his two samurai retainers) brandishes an "inro" pillbox with the "three leafed mallow" crest to reveal Mitsukuni's identity, i.e., a member of the Tokugawa clan. (By the way, although Mitsukuni existed and was a relation of the shogun, the drama episodes are all fictional.)

Interestingly, however, the Tokugawa clan's crest is not "three leafed mallow" actually but Asarum caulescens Maxim., which is a very plain, two-leafed or heart shaped plant. The Tokugawa clan's crest, three-leafed mallow, is said to be modeled on this plain plant.

Then, another question comes up. Why did someone who wanted to rule the country choose such a plain plant as their crest? One website says that many samurai clans during the age of warring states (1467-1615) chose plain plants as their crests to show that they were strong and hardy enough to survive in such harsh circumstances as these plants were. 

I found a (maybe) varied carpet beetle covered in pollen in the center of a white flower (the first 3 photos). The beetle must have been having breakfast but looked to me like playing with pollen by itself.   

2026/6/17

Blue Dawn Flower ノアサガオ（野朝顔）

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Blue dawn flowers or blue morning glories (Ipomoea indica) are native to subtropical and tropical areas (including southern Japan) and can now be found across the country including the mainland. Unlike other morning glories (e.g., Ipomoea nil), this morning glory produces flowers for nearly half a year in Japan from June to November, suggesting its hardiness.

Blue morning glories are larger, about 10 cm in diameter. They're hardy or in other words invasive and for that, they're designated as an invasive plant in Japan and other countries. 

I thought the bee in the center of the blue dawn flower in the first two photos was dead because it didn't move at all even if I touched the flower gently. So, I touched it less gently and less and less... Then the bee woke up and flew away. OMG! It must have been in a dream where it's having a sumptuous feast after such a feast. Sorry... 

2026/6/16

2026/6/16

Hydrangea Serrata Var. Yesoensis F. Cuspidata Cv. 四季咲き姫紫陽花（シキザキヒメアジサイ）

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These are Hydrangea serrata var. yesoensis f. cuspidata cv., a type of mountain hydrangea. Their Japanese name is "shikizaki hime ajisai," which translates into "hydrangea blooming all year round." As the name suggests, the hydrangeas bloom for a longer period, i.e., the six months from June to December (not throughout the year though). Another feature is that the blooms change color at different pace one by one, resulting in various shades of pink, blue and purple. 

Their blue and purple color is beautiful but their bluish, pinkish, and purplish sepia gradients evoke a sense of nostalgic beauty. (Scroll down!)

Below are the shots of various hydrangeas. Hope you enjoy them, too!

Hydrangea macrophylla 'Ayesha' (Popcorn hydrangea)

Hydrangea changing from pale green to white then to pale blue
Hydrangea blooming all year round (Hydrangea serrata var. yesoensis f. cuspidata cv.)

Purple and pink lacecap hydrangeas

Various lacecap hydrangeas

Pink mophead hydrangea

Kurenai lacecap hydrangea (Hydrangea serrata var. 'Kurenai')

Oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia)

Tea of heaven 'Mikata-yae' (blue Hydrangea serrata)

Nettle-leaved hydrangea (Hydrangea hirta)

White and whitish hydrangea

Annabelle hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens 'Annabelle')

2023/5/28

2023/5/28

Carolina Horsenettle (Solanum Carolinense) ワルナスビ（悪茄子）

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The Carolina horsenettle (Solanum carolinense) is (as you can guess from its name) native to North America, was introduced to Japan during the Meiji era (1868-1912), and can now be found across the country. The plant produces white and pale purple flowers from June to October and fruits from July to October in Tokyo. 

The Carolina horsenettle is named by a pioneer Japanese botanist Dr. Tomitaro Makino "waru nasubi" in 1906, which translates into "rogue eggplant." This is justifiable. The plant is poisonous in its entirety with thorns that would prick you if you try to remove it. So, although it's in the same family as the eggplant (i.e., Solanaceae), nobody would disagree the Carolina horsenettle is ROGUE as you can see in its other English names "radical weed," "apple of Sodom," and "devil's tomato." 

Despite such a bad perception, however, Carolina horsenettle flowers are beautiful and its fruits are pretty, which look like kumquats (scroll down) although again they're toxic. We shouldn't be fooled by appearances.

2026/6/16

Lily of the Nile (Agapanthus) アガパンサス（紫君子蘭）

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The Lily of the Nile or the African lily is native to Southern Africa, was introduced to Japan during the Meiji era (1868-1912) and can now be found across the country, producing pale purple and white (sometimes pink, which I've never seen) flowers from May to August in Tokyo. The lily is popular for its flowers blooming during the muggy rainy season in Japan (usually from June to mid-July).   

2025/6/20