Chinese Fringetree (Chionanthus Retusus) ヒトツバタゴ（一つ葉タゴ）/ナンジャモンジャ

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These are flowers of a Chinese fringetree (Chionanthus retusus). The Chinese fringetree is native to China, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan and can be found across Japan. The tree produces beautiful white flowers from April to May (which, before fully open, look to me like aliens floating in the air) and black fruits (scroll down) from September to October, which are inedible and avoided even by birds.

The Chinese fringetree has male and hermaphrodite trees, the same as the Japanese ternstroemia (Ternstroemia gymnanthera). I did research to find out the sex of the tree but in vain.  

2026/4/26

Chinese Tallow (Triadica Sebifera) 南京櫨（ナンキンハゼ）

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The Chinese tallow is one of my favorite plants for its beauty throughout the year, i.e., spike-like green flowers and three-lobed also beautiful green fruits from spring to summer, gorgeous gradients of red, orange, and yellow leaves in autumn (scroll down!), and chubby white seeds covered in capsules, which are green at first but turn black, in winter. The tree is native to China but can be found across Japan. Its leaves offer comfortable habitats to insects, like nettle caterpillars (scroll down) and yellow spotted stink bugs. 

2026/6/2

Small Venus' Looking-Glass (Triodanis Biflora) ヒナキキョウソウ（雛桔梗草）

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The small Venus' looking-glass (Triodanis biflora) is native to North America. Its naturalization in Japan was confirmed in the 1930s and the plant can now be found across the country. The small Venus' looking-glass produces purple flowers from May to July, which resemble Triodanis perfoliata very much but it's not so difficult to distinguish them. Triodanis biflora generally produces a single flower at the apex of a stem while Triodanis perfoliata usually produces multiple flowers. How their leaves attach to the stem is also different.  

2026/6/2

Annabelle Hydrangea (Hydrangea Arborescens 'Annabelle') アナベル

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Annabelle hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens 'Annabelle') is a cultivar of Hydrangea arborescens. The hydrangea is a late bloomer, producing flowers from May to July, which are lime green at first, turning white. Below are the shots of various hydrangeas. Hope you enjoy them!

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)

2026/6/2

Purpletop Vervain (Verbena Bonariensis) ヤナギハナガサ（柳花笠）

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The purpletop vervain (Verbena bonariensis) is native to South America, was imported to Japan for horticultural purposes and can now be found across the country. It produces clusters of tiny pink flowers from June to October. The plant's Japanese name is "yanagi hanagasa," which translates into "willow flower hat," after its willow leaf shaped leaves (the willow translates into "yanagi" in Japanese) and the flower looking like a hanagasa, a hat decorated with flowers used in Japanese traditional festivals.  

2026/5/29

Early Amethyst (Callicarpa Dichotoma) コムラサキ（小紫）

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Early amethyst (Callicarpa dichotoma) is native to Asia and can be found across Japan. It produces tiny pale pink flowers in clusters from July to August and tiny drupes also in clusters from September to November. The fruits are green at first and then turn purple. (Scroll down!!) Its Japanese name is "komurasaki," which translates into "small East Asian beautyberry," after the two resembling each other but the former (i.e., early amethyst) being smaller than the latter.  

Their Japanese names both contain "muraski," which means purple and Murasaki Shikibu or Lady Purple. Lady Purple is a Japanese novelist, poet and court lady at the Imperial court in the Heian period (794- 1185), known as the author of The Tale of Genji, which is said to be the world's oldest long novel.

2026/6/1

Stilt Bug (Berytidae) A Head is Hidden but a Butt Sticks Out. イトカメムシ 頭隠して尻隠さず

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A stilt bug on a lemon balm leaf. The 1st photo is the bug on the leaf, entirely visible. The 2nd photo is after the bug hiding under the leaf, which can be described in a Japanese saying "Atama kakushite shiri kakusazu," which translates into "A head is hidden but a butt sticks out," meaning a half-hearted attempt at hiding.   

2026/6/1

Two-Toned Mophead Hydrangeas 縁取りの紫陽花と上野（谷中）天王寺

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In Japan, June is the month of rain and hydrangeas, and people across the nation enjoy their various types. Those in this post are one of them, two-toned mophead hydrangeas.

I saw some of such blooms at Tennoji temple in Ueno Tokyo, which has an interesting history. The temple originally belonged to the Nichiren school of Buddhism but was persecuted by the Edo government and at the end of the 17th century forcefully converted to the Tendai school with two monks at the temple being sent away to a distant island. This occurred because the Nichiren school refuted other Buddhist schools, provoking the anger of not only the priests but also the country's rulers, resulting in the persecution of the Nichiren sect and temples of that sect. 

But now, nothing at the temple reminds visitors of such a history. The old temple just sits there with beautiful hydrangeas.

2021/6/9 at Tennoji temple

2026/5/29

Viburnum Odoratissimum (Sweet Viburnum) 珊瑚樹（サンゴジュ）

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Sweet viburnum (Viburnum odoratissimum) is native to Asia and can be found across Japan. The tree produces clusters of white flowers from June to July and red berries from July to October in Japan and because of the color of the berries, the tree's Japanese name is "sango ju," which translates into "coral tree." The berries are beautiful but toxic. 

2026/5/28

Various Lacecap Hydrangeas 額紫陽花（ガクアジサイ）いろいろ

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It's almost impossible to classify lacecap hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla f. normalis) based on color. Each one has cream, yellow, blue, purple, green, pink, and red fertile flowers surrounded by green, pink, blue, purple, red, and even white sterile decorative sepals, changing their gradients as time passes. It's reasonable that one of its Japanese names is "shichi henge," which translates into "seven changes." To see lacecap hydrangeas in pink or purple, read this post! 

2026/5/31

Oakleaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea Quercifolia) カシワバアジサイ（柏葉紫陽花）

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These are oakleaf hydrangeas (Hydrangea quercifolia). As suggested by the name, they have oak leaf shaped leaves. The flowers are greenish white at first but turn white and then red. The leaves also turn red in autumn. Like other hydrangeas, what look like petals are not petals but are sepals. Some blooms below (scroll down) are called "harmony" oakleaf hydrangeas. If you like hydrangeas, read the following posts!

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)

2026/5/29