Japanese Cheesewood (Pittosporum Tobira) トベラ（扉）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

The fruits of Japanese cheesewood (Pittosporum tobira) in my neighborhood have started to split open to show bright red seeds. I've enjoyed seeing the fruits every winter for the last several years and am still intrigued by their color change from deep green in summer (3rd and 4th photos) to creamy yellow with such glossy red seeds. 

Japanese cheesewood is called "tobira" in Japanese, meaning "door" after an old Japanese ritual of hanging a sprig of tobira on the door with a baked sardine head on February 3 or setsubun, i.e., the date before the beginning of spring on the lunisolar calendar, to expel evil spirits.  

Kenilworth Ivy (Cymbalaria Muralis) ツタバウンラン（蔦葉海蘭）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

I wrote about an unusual combination (i.e., morning glories and autumn leaves) yesterday and am writing another one, i.e., kenilworth ivy (Cymbalaria muralis) and autumn leaves. Kenilworth ivy flowers from March to August, so this is definitely an unusual combination, isn't it? I love their rabbit-shaped flowers and hardiness that allows the plant to grow in the gaps between stones. 

2024/11/20

Blue Dawn Flower ノアサガオ（野朝顔）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

Morning glories and autumn leaves. It's an unusual combination, isn't it? But that exists in my neighborhood because these morning glories, specifically blue dawn flowers (Ipomoea indica) produce flowers not only in summer but also in autumn or even in winter. So hardy, aren't they? 

Other differences between usual morning glories and blue dawn flowers include the size of flowers. The latter's diameter is about 10 cm. And as you can easily guess, their hardiness, which means invasiveness, makes them designated as an invasive plant in Japan. Fortunately, however, these blue dawn flowers are in Central Tokyo but in an area where few people come, so they've grown vines nonchalantly, just climbing up a tree (3rd photo)😆!

2024/11/19

Hamilton's Spindletree (Euonymus Hamiltonianus) マユミ（檀）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

How stupid am I?? I completely forgot that the fruits of Hamilton's spindletree (Euonymus hamiltonianus) split. The rain and wind made me hesitant to take a walk this morning but I managed to go out and found them starting to split open to reveal such beautiful bright red seeds! You don't know what will happen and that's why I love an early morning walk.

I've been observing these fruit capsules change their color since late September. In September they were green, turning pale pink in October and now in early November like those in the 1st and 2nd photos. 

The Hamilton's spindletree fruits start to grow in May and June, then splitting into four sections like those in these photos. The tree also produces beautiful pale green flowers although I've never seen them. 

A good thing about photographing plants is to make people talkative. When I was photographing the plant in September, two women approached me asking what they were. I said they were fruits of Hamilton's spindletree but the women insisted they should be buds to flower soon. It was fun talking with strangers about little things.

2024/11/18

Maple Leaves in Autumn 紅葉

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

Going to a famous tourist spot to see beautiful autumn leaves is one thing and going for a walk in your neighborhood to look for the small beauty around you another. Autumn leaves in my neighborhood have started changing color from green to yellow and orange, and then to red. My favorite way of enjoying autumn leaves is to see from below against the blue sky, which makes the leaves strikingly beautiful. 

Longstalk Holly (Ilex Pedunculosa) ソヨゴ（戦）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

The red berries and the deep green leaves made me smile. This is longstalk holly (Ilex pedunculosa). Many plants produce red, purple, or black fruits in autumn but the longstalk holly berries are unique, hanging from the tree like cherries🍒. The longstalk holly produces tiny and adorable flowers!

Yeddo Hawthorn (Rhaphiolepis Umbellata) シャリンバイ（車輪梅）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

Are they edible? That's what I thought at first😆. They look like blueberries, don't they? They're Yeddo hawthorn berries (Rhaphiolepis umbellata). I did research and alas found that they're edible but tasteless with little edible part. The good news is they're used for textile dyeing. 

Pampas Lily-of-the-Valley (Salpichroa Origanifolia) ハコベホオズキ（繁縷酸漿）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

These small flowers surprised me at first because I remembered them flowering in only spring but I was mistaken. They're pampas lilies-of-the-valley (Salpichroa origanifolia) and flower from May to October (it's already November though). Pampas lilies-of-the-valley resemble Japanese andromeda and white enkianthus but the leaf shape and the timing of flowering are different. Japanese andromeda flowers from February to April and white enkianthus in April and May.  

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

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

This is one of my favorite plants, Chinese tallow (Triadica sebifera). In summer, its thin and long flowers are beautiful (5th photo) while its fruits attract passersby with the deep green fruits against the leaves of the same color (3rd photo). And now in autumn, the fruits have started to crack, showing white seeds (1st and 2nd photos). The next thing you can enjoy is the leaves, which will change the color gorgeously, turning orange, yellow, and red.  

A few days after the 1st photo

White Sasanqua Camellia 白い山茶花

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

Double flowered camellia sasanqua are gorgeous while single flowered ones are fragilely elegant. And the deep green leaves, which are also beautiful, make the camellia blooms' beauty stand out even more. 

Bumblebee マルハナバチ（丸花蜂）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

I often mistake horseflies for bees, but I believe this is a bee, maybe a bumblebee!!?? If so, it's my first time to see a bumblebee. The bee is so chubby and so adorable! 

I don't eat sugary things much but when I really want to have sweet stuff, I make French toast myself and put a LOT of honey on it. 

The bumblebee is called "maruhana bachi," meaning "round (or chubby) flower bee." This makes sense, doesn't it?