Plants and Flowers in Tokyo by Kei Narujima　　東京の草花

Hairy Flowers 🪒 - Spider Flower and Gaura　クレオメとガウラは毛深い🪒

Japanese follows English.　英語の後に日本語が続きます。

Hairy flowers often catch my eye. I don't know why. Cleome hassleriana below, commonly known as spider flower, is one such flower.

Cleome hassleriana クレオメ

Spider flower 西洋風蝶草

Cleome has long thread-like stamens 長い雄しべ

Cleome or spider flower is called in Japan "Western wind butterfly flower," meaning Japanese see it as a butterfly while English speakers a spider, and I see it as hair.

The white and pink gaura flowers or beeblossom (because the flower attracts bees!) below also look hairy to me, but in Japan they are called "White butterfly flower" and "Mountain pink flower" respectively.

White gaura 白のガウラ

White butterfly flower in Japanese 白蝶草

Pink gaura ピンクのガウラ

Mountain pink flower in Japanese 山桃草

Hair removal is very popular in Japan among not only women but also men, and that's not only in Japan. Getting rid of body hair seems to be increasingly popular in the US and European countries, too. But that may not be true of European women. You may still remember French women showing their hairy armpits to fight against the pressure women face to shave or wax.

Speaking of hair, I have a more serious hair related problem. I have had to cut my own hair myself at least once a month for nearly six months (because I have short hair) 😱 Somebody, HEEELLLP me!

To see more hairy flowers, St. John's wort and love-in-a-mist (nigella), read these posts!
- St. John's Wort is Hairy, Too!
- Love-In-A-Mist is A Bit Hairy....

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なぜか「毛深い」花に惹かれます。上から、

赤い花はクレオメ、またの名を西洋風蝶草。

次の白い花はガウラ、または白蝶草。

ピンクの花もガウラ、または山桃草です。

「毛」と言えば、日本でも欧米でも脱毛が盛んです。男性の脱毛も今は当たり前。一方、女性の間では毛を剃るべきだというプレッシャーに対抗する動きがあります。

ただ、今の私にとって「毛」と言えば「髪の毛」です。かれこれ半年美容院に行っておらず、セルフカットで済ませていますがもう限界！ショートなので大変です。誰かダスゲデ～😱 ！！

私同様、毛深いお花に興味がある方は下の記事もご覧ください！

St. John's Wort is Hairy, Too!　ビヨウヤナギ（未央柳）も毛深いです！
Love-In-A-Mist is A Bit Hairy....　毛深くってごめんなさい🙇 ニゲラより

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Morning Glory - Various Leaf Forms　朝顔の葉っぱいろいろ

Japanese follows English.　英語の後に日本語が続きます。

I've been watching the growth of morning glories for the past several weeks. Some were still buds while others in full bloom. Also, some were up above and others hiding under leaves, but can you tell the differences among these pretty and gorgeous flowers other than the color?

About to bloom 咲く直前

Ready to bloom 準備万端｡｡｡

Before full bloom 満開直前

Bright pink 濃いピンク

Blooming vertically 直立咲き！

The answer is the leaf form!! There are at least nine leaf forms for morning glories. Did you know that? So, now, let's focus on the form of their leaves! (Source: Various leaf forms of the varied (mutant) Japanese morning glory)

1. General 並葉・常葉

2. Another general 並葉・常葉

3. Round heart shaped - Ants are busy working
丸葉 - アリさん、大忙し！

4. Maple leaf shaped 立田葉？

Morning glories in 1, 2 and 3 are all purple and look completely the same, but although the leaf shape in 1 and 2 is the same, it's different from that in 3. And look at Picture 4. It has at least two maple-leaf shaped leaves divided into five lobes. Wow, that's why it's fun knowing things!

According to the website, the Japanese morning glory has nine types of leaf shapes, and I've found three of them, which has increased the fun for my morning walk😊!

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ここのところアサガオをずっと見ていました。紫の花が上や下やいろんなところにたくさん咲いています｡｡｡で、きづいたんです。みんな同じに見えるけど葉っぱの形が違うではないか！

アサガオって９種類も葉の形があるんですね。で、私が見つけたのは「並」、「丸」そして「立田」の３種類。これから朝歩く時の楽しみが増えました😊

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I Wish She.......　我が家の昭恵

Japanese follows English.　英語の後に日本語が続きます。

A woman was hospitalized. She had an acute stomach pain and diarrhea, collapsed and sent to a nearby hospital by ambulance.

She first felt something wrong when she was in Central Tokyo for a non-essential reason. She went to a ladies' room in a nearby building and collapsed, which of course scared off people there, but after she said that she didn't have coronavirus, one person approached to ask if she was okay and called her husband and 911. Another person brought her a blanket.

Dear Bugs! Ant, Grasshopper, Horsefly, Ladybug and Others!　働き虫と怠け虫

Japanese follows English.　英語の後に日本語が続きます。

I'm not interested in insects so much, but these days, I often see ants, bees, flies, ladybug and other bugs on and inside flowers. This made me think of what they are doing there. Of course they are busy collecting their food or just resting...

Striped shield bug アカスジカメムシ

Orange and black stripes are beautiful!
オレンジと黒の縞々がきれい！

Japanese weigela and horsefly 箱根空木とアブ

Grasshopper? バッタ？

Korean rose buds 木槿

A drone beetle resting on Japanese weigela leaf
箱根空木の葉で一休み？

A drone beetle resting on bushkiller
ヤブガラシの上のカナブン

Can you see them? 見えますか？

We're busy in the morning 朝は忙しいの！

Yellow flower 花の名前は分かりません｡｡｡

Rose glory bower 牡丹臭木（ボタンクサギ）

Ants on rose of Sharon's bud
木槿のつぼみで忙しい

Korean rose 芙蓉

Crepe myrtle サルスベリ

Another Japanese weigela - ant and horsefly
箱根空木アリとアブ？

Two ladybugs on crepe myrtle seeds
サルスベリの実とテントウムシ

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今回の主役は虫です。最近よく見かけます。箱根空木の葉や百日紅の実で休憩しているカナブン君やテントウムシ君以外は、みんな朝早くから食料集めに忙しそうです😊

Skunkvine　ヘクソカズラ（屁糞蔓）

Japanese follows English.　英語の後に日本語が続きます。

I found it! Finally! This is skunkvine. The name is terrible but not only that. Its Japanese name, "fart shxx vine," too!

Skunkvine 屁糞葛

Looks like a Russian cookie....
ロシアンクッキーに見える｡｡｡？

Kawaii and pretty!
可愛くてちっちゃい！

I once compared the name of several plants in English and Japanese, and it was when I learned about this plant, which has such a hideous name because of "its strong, sulfurous odor exuded when its leaves or stems are crushed or bruised" according to Wikipedia. But I hadn't seen it, so since then I've been wondering what a plant called "skunkvine" in English and "fart shxx plant" in Japanese like?

And now I've found it. It's like a Russian cookie to me, i.e., a cookie with strawberry jam on it...🍪 And this makes me feel more strongly that it is wrong to call such a pretty flower such a terrible name just because it's smelly. Maybe I should smell it next time I see it....😅

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屁糞葛です。英語では「skunkvine」。いずれにしてもひどい名前です。葉や茎をつぶすと硫黄のような臭いがするからだそうです。でも、こんなかわいい花（ロシアンクッキー🍪に見える？）にちょっと（？）臭いだけでこの名前はひどすぎませんか？

今度見かけたら嗅いでみないといけませんね｡｡｡😅

Japanese Weigela Is Fickle！　箱根空木は移り気！

Japanese follows English.　英語の後に日本語が続きます。

I wrote about Japanese weigela in May. I saw the tree again a few days ago and was amazed again by this tree flowering in three colors, white, pink, and purple!

Tricolor Japanese weigela 箱根空木の花は三色

Popular with bees 蜂に人気

Pentas Has "Pente" Petals　ペンタス（草山丹花）

Japanese follows English.　英語の後に日本語が続きます。

I like colors. I like small flowers, especially small flowers composing a cluster. Naturally, I love pentas or Egyptian starcluster, though in a previous post I mistook it for verbena or lantana😅!!

Red and white 紅白

Red 赤

Pink ピンク

Pale pink 薄いピンク

White 白

The name is after the Greek word of "pente" meaning "five," the number of petals of the flower. In Japan, it's called "Mountain Chinese ixora" because the flower looks like Chinese ixora although pentas and Chinese ixora are in different families.

By the way, I've just found that the top flower of the cluster below has not "pente (i.e., five)" but six petals. Is it like finding a four-leaf clover?

The top flower has six petals!
てっぺんの花は花弁が６枚？

I googled but found no information about a six-petal Egyptian starcluster, so what do you think I did? I decided to believe that I'm so LUCKY that I found this six-petal pentas....😉

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ペンタスです。ギリシャ語で「５」を「pente」と言い、花弁が５枚なのでその名がついたそうです。日本語では草山丹花。こちらは山丹花に似ているからだそうですが、種属は違うとのこと。相も変わらず、日本のネーミングはセンスがありません。

ところで最後の写真てっぺんの花、花びら６枚じゃありませんか？これって四つ葉のクローバーみたいなもんですよね。確証は見つけられませんでしたがそう信じることにしました😉

Petunias in Various Colors　色とりどりのペチュニア

Japanese follows English.　英語の後に日本語が続きます。

I first wrote about petunias in March this year. And at that time I didn't know I would enjoy this flower for such a long time!

Violet petals, violet veins 菫色

Purple veins 薄紫に花脈が濃い紫

Bright pink 濃いピンク

Pink ピンク一色

Pink petals, white center, bright pink veins
ピンクと白

Dark purple 濃い紫

Cream petals with yellow veins 黄色い花脈

Pink petals with white center ピンクがきれい！

Blue or black veins 紺の花脈？

Orange pink veins 濃いピンクの花脈

Lime yellow ライムイエロー

Red 赤

White 白

Grapefruit pink グレープフルーツ色？

The beauty of petunias is derived from not only petals but beautiful veins as cape periwinkle's prettiness coming from the combination of colors of its petals and eye (i.e., the center of the flower).

Petunia is called "Japanese badminton shuttlecock morning glory" because its sepal looks like a Japanese badminton shuttlecock while the flower morning glory. But to tell you the truth, I didn't know that, mistaking the flower for morning glory four months ago when seeing it for the first time.

The more we know, the more deeply we can enjoy our lives, and morning walking gives me an opportunity to make my life more interesting and fun😉!

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ペチュニアです。花弁の色と花脈の色のコンビネーションが大好きです。

と偉そうに書きましたが、３月に初めて見たときは朝顔と間違ってしまいました｡｡｡物事知ると楽しみも増える。最近ウォーキング中は「何でも見よう！いろいろ知ろう！」ときょろきょろ。挙動不審ですね（笑）。