Bitter Gourd (Momordica Charantia) ゴーヤ（苦瓜）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

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

"Drunken" Confederate Rose 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. Because of such a color change from pure white in the morning to pink in the afternoon, this type of Confederate roses is called "drunken Confederate rose" in Japan.

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

12:30 p.m., 2024/9/16

15:30 p.m., 2024/9/16

White-Banded Hunter Hawkmoth (Theretra Oldenlandiae) セスジスズメ（背筋雀）

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Impatiens hawkmoths or white-banded hunter hawkmoths (Theretra oldenlandia) can be found across Japan. Their caterpillars are beautifully black with a stark contrast with orange spots while the adults are cool, looking like fighter aircrafts. The adults can be found from May to October in Japan.   

2026/8/5

2026/8/11

Sea Roach (Ligia Exotica) フナムシ（船虫）

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Sea roaches (Ligia exotica) live in rocky marine coasts, harbor walls, piers, and docks just above the high-tide line. One of their characteristics is their agility. They run so fast that I've been able to take photos of them only twice, both of which time, they suddenly stopped for some reason. I always say "eek!" when finding them but I also find them when running creepy cute.

 

I first saw one in 2024 when taking an early morning walk along the river. Something small and black crossed in front of me at a GREAT speed. I automatically followed it but suddenly it stopped. It stayed there for ten seconds or so and suddenly started to run again at a greater speed. Its move was so cute but its appearance is not so. That was my first encounter with a sea roach. They're roaches, which explains their agility. 

2026/8/11

Chinese Cucumber (Trichosanthes Kirilowii) キカラスウリ（黄烏瓜）

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Chinese cucumbers (Trichosanthes kirilowii) are native to China and Japan. They're dioecious, producing white "hairy" flowers from June to September and fruits from August to October. The fruits are green at first and then turn yellow. They're edible but not tasty. Someone says on the internet that he would never eat it unless famine comes😆. It's not so difficult to find Chinese cucumber flowers in Tokyo but not so when it comes to the fruits. It seems Chinese cucumbers are removed when the flower season is over.     

When you see the flowers, you would likely see pumpkin beetles (Aulacophora nigripennis), too. Pumpkin beetles are harmful but their tininess, agility and color contrast between orange and black never fails to bring me a smile.  

2022/6/28

2024/6/12

Bamboo-Leaf Oak (Quercus Myrsinifolia) シラカシ（白樫）

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The bamboo-leaf oak (Quercus myrsinifolia) is native to eastern Asia and can be found across Japan. The tree produces flowers from April to May and then fruits, i.e., acorns. What I find most fun is to observe their growth. They're tiny and pale green at first, then getting chubbier while turning matcha green then brown toward autumn. The baby acorns still have styles, which are part of the pistils.  

2026/8/11

2026/6/19

Sawtooth Oak (Quercus Acutissima) クヌギ（櫟）

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The sawtooth oak (Quercus acutissima) is native to North East Asia and can be found across Japan. The tree is known for its acorns but its calybia and cupules are beautiful and so are its flowers, produced from April to May (scroll down), which always remind me of a "noren" or bead curtain hung at the entrance of many izakaya restaurants in Japan😆.     

By the way, the term "noren" has another meaning in Japan, that is, goodwill for accounting and tax purposes because noren, which often has a trade name on it, is believed to represent customers' trust and brand value. Noren or goodwill is generally amortized over 20 years or less under Japanese GAAP and 5 years for Japanese tax purposes but not amortized but impaired when devalued for IFRS purposes. Why so different?  

As a relatively conservative country, Japan has preferred to take a conservative approach that goodwill, i.e., value in excess of market value, should decline as time goes by. Japan also doesn't like an impairment test, which could be manipulated by the management. Which approach would you choose?   

2026/8/9

Common Straight Swift (Parnara Guttata) イチモンジセセリ（一文字挵）

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The common straight swift (Parnara guttata) can be found across, and is loved in, Japan. Moths open wings when resting while most butterflies rest with their wings closed but common straight swift butterflies sometimes rest with open wings to absorb the warmth of the sun, thanks to which I've learned that their back is green (scroll down). Also scroll down to see an ant carrying a dead common straight swift.  

The common straight swift's Japanese name is "ichimonji seseri," which translates into "straight line skipper" after its white spots in a straight line while small branded swift (Pelopidas mathias), which has white spots in a circle, has a Japanese name "chabane seseri," which translates into "brown wing skipper."   

I really love common straight swift butterflies for their squirrel-like cute eyes. 

2026/8/7

Giant Crinum Lily (Crinum Asiaticum) ハマユウ（浜木綿）

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Giant crinum lilies (Crinum asiaticum) are native to tropical and eastern Asia and can be found in mainly the southern half of Japan, producing white flowers in summer. As you can see from the flower shape, the lilies are in the Amaryllidaceae family, the same as red spider lilies and so are toxic in their entirety. The thin orangish things on the flower are stamens.

Giant crinum lilies have been loved by Japanese people for so long that the Man'yōshū, i.e., the oldest extant collection of Japanese waka (poetry in Classical Japanese) compiled during the Nara period (710 to 794), includes a waka about the lilies. More than ten municipalities in Japan have designated the lilies as their flower. 

2024/9/3

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

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Some plants bring you happiness through the year and Hamilton's spindletree (Euonymus hamiltonianus) is one of them. The plant is native to East Asia and can be found across Japan. It produces tiny cream flowers from May to June and fruits in autumn. The fruits are four-lobed and green at the beginning, then turn pale pink, and crack to show seeds with red arils in autumn.

A good thing about photographing plants is to make people more talkative. When I was photographing the fruits in September, two women approached me asking what they were. I said they were the fruits of Hamilton's spindletree but the women insisted they couldn't be fruits but buds to flower soon. It was fun talking with strangers about little things.

2026/4/24

2025/5/9

Crepe Myrtle (Lagerstroemia Indica) サルスベリ（百日紅）

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Crepe myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica) is native to China, coming to Japan before the Edo period (1603 - 1867) and can now be found across Japan. The tree produces flowers in various colors, white, pink, and red. Its leaves turn orange and red beautifully in autumn and the dark brown fruits are also beautiful.   

The crepe myrtle has two names in Japan, "saru suberi," which translates to "monkeys slip" because of its slippery bark, on which even monkeys (are said to) slip, and "hyaku jitsu ko," which translates to "red for one hundred days," after that the crepe myrtle flowers bloom for a long period of time.

According to Flower Meanings, the crepe myrtle flower means;
- Prosperity;
- Good luck;
- Chastity;
- Good luck in love and marriage; and
- Marital fidelity.

But here in Japan, it means:

- Eloquence;
- Charm and;
- Carelessness.

2026/8/5

2022/8/1