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.  

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

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

I've been observing fruit capsules of hamilton's spindletree (Euonymus hamiltonianus) 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.

2024/11/10

2024/11/10

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?  

Camellia Sasanqua (Sasanqua Camellia) サザンカ（山茶花）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

Is it too early or late, I don't know, but this sasanqua tree has been in full bloom for the last week. It's autumn according to the calendar but sometimes still hot these days in Tokyo and the sasanqua tree has many double-flowered blooms. Is this because of global warming or this sasanqua being an anomaly? 

Pale Grass Blue (Pseudozizeeria Maha) 大和小灰蝶（ヤマトシジミ）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

This is a pale grass blue butterfly (Pseudozizeeria maha) and you can see why it's "pale grass BLUE." The upper side of the male is beautiful pale blue!

The pale grass blue resembles the plains cupid (Luthrodes pandava) very much except for the latter having orange spots on the wings, so I once mistook a plains cupid for a pale grass blue. This time, I checked several times to make sure that this had no orange spot on its wings (3rd photo). It's a pale grass blue butterfly!  

Common Grass Yellow (Eurema Hecabe) キチョウ（黄蝶）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

I'm diurnal as are butterflies, but because I take a morning walk too early, I rarely see butterflies while on a walk. But while heading to a coffee shop nearby at around 10 a.m. the day before yesterday, I saw many butterflies of at least three types flying here and there. One is the pale grass blue, another is the Asian comma (Polygonia c-aureum), and the other is this, i.e., the common grass yellow (Eurema hecabe)!!

The yellow was so bright but almost the same color as the flower on which it was resting, I decided to wait hoping the butterfly to move to another place to photograph not only this beautiful butterfly but also the contrast between this bright yellow and another color, e.g., the deep green leaves, but alas, a few minutes later, it just flied away.  

Asian Comma (Polygonia C-Aureum) キタテハ（黄立羽）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

I'm diurnal and butterflies are, but because I take a morning walk too early, I rarely see butterflies while on a walk. But yesterday, I went to a coffee shop nearby at around 10 a.m. seeing many butterflies of at least three types flying here and there. One is the pale grass blue, another is the common grass yellow and this one, i.e., Asian comma (Polygonia c-aureum)!! The upper side of Asian comma's wings is such bright orange while the underside is brown like dry leaves (which I couldn't see), protecting them from predators. 

Joro Spider (Trichonephila Clavata)? ジョロウグモ（女郎蜘蛛）？

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

This is the best shot I could get. It's a female Joro spider, I think. I noticed her spider web first several months ago because it's big, about 50 cm in diameter, and was shining beautifully in sunlight (though I couldn't photograph the beauty with my compact camera) and since then, I've come to see the owner, which is about 4 cm from toe to toe. For me, this spider is a bit scary but gorgeous as well.   

Autumn Olive (Elaeagnus Umbellata) アキグミ（秋茱萸）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

I was tired from work that day but the tiredness just went away when I saw these adorable berries. They're autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellata). Thorny olives fruit in spring while autumn leaves fruit in autumn. Again, they're so cute so I could just eat them up (although they're tart and astringent😨)!!

Moonflower (Ipomoe Alba) ヨルガオ（夜顔）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

I thought they were some morning glories but didn't know their specific type but an Instagram follower told me they were moonflowers (Ipomoea alba) and this morning, finally and for the first time, I found they were fully open like the Moon! Moonflowers have this name because they're open at night (and that's why I'd seen them closed or only half open in the morning like those in the 3rd and 4th photos). 

In Japan, morning glories are broadly classified into the following three types according to the time when they open: asagao, hirugao, and yorugao, meaning "morning face (i.e., Ipomoea)," "afternoon face (i.e., Japanese bindweed)," and "night face (i.e., moonflowers!)" respectively. Seeing moonflowers has concluded my list of Japan classified morning glories.   

Thorny Olive (Elaeagnus Pungens) ナワシログミ（苗代茱萸）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

These are flowers of thorny olive (Elaeagnus pungens). Other species in the Elaeagnus genus flower in spring but this one flowers in autumn, has serrated leaves, and fruits in autumn. This means I need to keep going there to see the red berries!

The thorny olive is called "nawashiro gumi" or "rice seedbed Elaeagnus" in Japanese because it fruits when people prepare rice seedbeds.

Horsefly on an Annual Fleabane (Erigeron Annuus) ヒメジョオン（姫女菀）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

A horsefly came to land on a flower of annual fleabane (Erigeron annuus) and started to eat pollen. It was so tiny but a voracious eater😆. I'm not certain but I believe this is a long hoverfly (Sphaerophoria scripta).

Plains Cupid (Luthrodes Pandava) クロマダラソテツシジミ（黒斑蘇鉄小灰蝶）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

Butterflies were flying in many places with the beautiful grayish blue upper side of the wings while, when resting, showing only the grayish beige bottom side (2nd photo). They're plains cupids (Luthrodes pandava). Then, I found this one, showing both sides of its wings!  

202410/27

Shiso (Perilla Frutescens Var. Crispa) シソ（紫蘇）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

I always wondered what these tiny white flowers were and found the answer this morning by looking at a piece of paper on the wall (3rd photo), saying "Feel free to take some SHISO!" Yes! These are shiso flowers (Perilla frutescens var. crispa). 

Shiso, a kind of Japanese herb, is very popular, used for various dishes as ingredients (e.g., tempura) and as garnishes (e.g.,somen noodles, sushi, and sashimi ). The paper made me wonder how long it'd been there and why I missed it. I wish I had noticed it a few months earlier and been able to use shiso leaves for somen noodles!!

Star Magnolia (Magnolia Stellata) シデコブシ（四手辛夷）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

Star magnolia (Magnolia stellata) has started to produce buds. Its flowers resemble white magnolia (Yulan magnolia) very much, but there are several differences. Star magnolia flowers are star-shaped and a little smaller than white magnolia. The way of flowering is also different, i.e., star magnolia flowers fully open while white magnolias only half open even when in full bloom. Star magnolia flowers from early spring (3rd and following photos). The buds prepare themselves to open to white flowers in the next half year.     

Star magnolia (Magnolia stellata)　シデコブシ（四手辛夷）

Flowering Dogwood (Cornus Florida) ハナミズキ（花水木）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

Autumn has finally arrived not only on the calendar but in reality in Japan and flowering dogwood trees (Cornus florida) have started to produce fruits with leaves turning red! It's a bit early for the best season for viewing autumn leaves but these are beautiful enough as a starter.  

Flowering dogwood (Cornus florida)　ハナミズキ（花水木）

Wax-Leaf Privet (Ligustrum Japonicum) ネズミモチ（鼠糯）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

Small oval shaped green fruits caught my eye. This is a wax-leaf privet tree (Ligustrum japonicum). The fruit, which is used in herbal medicine, will turn black soon. The tree is called "nezumi mochi," meaning "mouse mochi" because the fruit looks like mouse droppings and the leaves resemble those of the mochi tree or the elegance female holly (Ilex integra).

Osmanthus Fragrans (Sweet Osmanthus) 金木犀（キンモクセイ）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

The shrub had many buds (2nd and 3rd photos) but it was not until I found these half open tiny orange flowers that I realized what they were. They're sweet osmanthus (Osmanthus fragrans). When open, they should be like in the fifth and following photos. They didn't smell yet but should become fragrant soon.    

2024/10/14

Chinese Quince (Pseudocydonia Sinensis) カリン（花梨）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

Autumn is the season of harvest. I found these Chinese quince fruits scattered on the ground. I saw them growing for the last couple of months but didn't realize they were Chinese quince. This may be because the tree has too many fruits as shown in the third photo. The good news is that no one seems interested in the fruits while I am to make jam from them. Supply and demand match😋.

If you're interested in pink Chinese quince flowers, scroll down.   

2024/10/12

2024/10/12

2024/10/12

Mascarene Island Leaf Flower (Phyllanthus Tenellus) ナガエコミカンソウ（長柄小蜜柑草）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

I often wondered what they were. They're small and ball shaped, placed on the leaves in such an orderly manner as shown in the second photo. But I always forgot about them when writing posts for the blog. Larger and more colorful plants eclipse such tiny plants. They're Mascarene Island leaf flowers (Phyllanthus tenellus). The thing is whether these ball shaped things are buds or fruits, which I can't tell. The Mascarene Island leaf flower produces flowers from June to November. But time will tell. I'll keep observing these tiny balls😄.  

Mascarene Island leaf flower (Phyllanthus tenellus)　ナガエコミカンソウ（長柄小蜜柑草）

Chinese Fringetree (Chionanthus Retusus) ヒトツバタゴ（一つ葉タゴ）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

These are fruits of a Chinese fringetree (Chionanthus retusus). Many plants fruit in autumn but their black color caught my eye. The tree produces white flowers in May, which I missed. The Chinese fringetree has male and hermaphrodite trees, the same as the Japanese ternstroemia (Ternstroemia gymnanthera). The fruits of Chinese fringetree are inedible and are avoided even by birds according to the information on the internet. Well then, who eats them? 

Chinese fringetree (Chionanthus retusus)　ヒトツバタゴ（一つ葉タゴ）

Ginkgo Nut ギンナン（銀杏）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

These are ginkgo nuts. They smell terrible but taste good, so it's very popular to eat the nuts in Japan as a seasonal delicacy. It's easy to cook. Put the nuts (with shell) in a frying pan and heat the pan over high heat in a frying pan until the shell turns brown. If they start popping, cover the pan. When the nuts start cracking, add salt and shake the pan until all crack. I haven't cooked the nuts myself but remember Mom dry roasting them for Dad. The point is grilled gingko nuts go so well with hot sake🍶. (Note that raw ginkgo nuts are toxic.) 

Gingko nuts　ギンナン（銀杏）