Plants and Flowers in Central Tokyo & Japanese Culture by Kei Narujima　東京の草花＆つぶやき

Hong Kong Kumquat (Fortunella Hindsii Swingle)　マメキンカン（豆金柑）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

This is a bonsai tree made from Hong Kong kumquat (Fortunella hindsii Swingle) and a moss ball. I'm Japanese but have never grown a bonsai tree and never thought I would. Someone gave it to me and suddenly the responsibility to grow this bonsai has fallen on me. One of my New Year resolutions will be to keep it from drying out!

Hassaku Orange　ハッサク（八朔）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

I found Chinese quince fruits scattered on the ground, brought two back home and made jam from them ten days ago. My next target now is these hassaku oranges.

The hassaku orange is a Japanese citrus hybrid between pomelo and mandarin, with pomelo-like characteristics (Source: Wikipedia). Marmalade made from hassaku is so tasty, but there's one problem. Peels of hassaku oranges at grocery stores should contain pesticide. I used to wash them by brush or remove a thin outer layer of the peel but as the outer layer is so orange, I want to use the fruit whole without throwing away any of it. So now, you see why and how badly I want these pesticide-free oranges!

The tree grows in a public space and it's not so busy there but I'm pretty sure that neighbors like me want to have some of these, too for the same reason as mine. From today on, I need to be vigilant, going there as often as possible to pick them up as soon as they fall to the ground😆!

Aloe　アロエ

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

I found the buds in November and have been observing them since then and now I know what aloe flowers are like. These are flowers of aloes more specifically candelabra aloe (Aloe arborescens). I didn't know the aloe produces flowers or has two types, i.e., the Aloe arborescens and the Aloe vera. I can tell those in these photos are the former because the flowers are red. The Aloe vera produces yellow flowers.

2024/12/24

False Holly (Osmanthus Heterophyllus)　ヒイラギ（柊）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

These are false holly flowers (Osmanthus heterophyllus). They're so tiny and white, looking innocent. Something else attracted my attention, however. The leaves on the 1st photo are all round unlike the plant's usual leaf shape. Then I learned that false holly trees change their leaf shape from spiky to round as they age and/or from round to spiky in response to hungry animals according to a Japanese tree doctor. Whether either or both are correct, this shows the adaptability of plants.

2024/12/22

East Asian Eurya (Eurya Japonica)　姫榊（ヒサカキ）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

These are flowers of East Asian eurya (Eurya japonica). In Japan, the East Asian eurya is used for Shinto rituals. It's understandable that their flower language in Japan is "Respect deities."

2024/3/24

Maple Leaves in Autumn　もみじの紅葉

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

Some leaves are still green but that makes the perfect color gradients from green to yellow, orange and red. Autumn leaves are beautiful but more beautiful against the blue sky.

2024/12/14

2024/12/27

Autumn Leaves - Their Way of Turning Red　紅葉してますけどそれが何か？

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

I was doing jump rope and squats in a small park nearby this morning as usual, turned around, saw this, and murmured, "What the hell?," and then burst out laughing! Autumn leaves usually make me say "Wow" with their magnificent color gradients, but this vine of leaves caught my eye with not the bright red color but their way of being! Every leaf has their own way of turning red.