The bright green spiny leaves caught my eye. These are the leaves of osmanthus heterophyllus or more commonly known as holly olive and false holly at the Parliamentary Museum. At least two pentatomidae or more commonly stink bugs were bathing in the sun on the leaves.
Holly olive is a shrub known in Japan to expel evil spirits. People in some areas, e.g., Kyoto, hang the head of a sardine impaled on a holly olive twig on the front door on the setsubun day, i.e., the day before the beginning of spring in the old calendar in Japan, generally on around February 3.
When I went to the museum on October 30, the shrub had no flowers, but the holly olive is in the osmanthus genus, so the flowers are fragrant. I need to go there again to smell them!!
The Parliamentary Museum is in Central Tokyo, close to the Imperial Palace and the National Diet Building, and among other things free admission. Definitely, one of the must places to drop by if/when you come to Japan.
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| Osmanthus heterophyllus leaves are spiny 柊の葉は尖ってる |
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憲政記念館の柊です。最初尖った葉にあれっと思い、近寄ったらカメムシくんが日なたぼっこをしていてほっこりしました。
柊は邪気を払う木として知られています。節分に、ヒイラギの枝に鰯の頭を戸に飾って悪鬼を払うという風習もありますね。
日本語では分からないのですが、柊の英語の学名は「osmanthus heterophyllus」、金木犀の学名は「osmanthus fragrans var. aurantiacus」で共に木犀属、つまり柊の花は金木犀、いやそれ以上に香るそうです。私が行った10月30日は花がなかったのですが、今度嗅ぎに行ってきます！
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