Ring-cupped oak or Japanese blue oak trees (Quercus glauca) can be found almost across Japan. They produce acorns from October to November and the acorns are not only fed on by insects and birds but were eaten by people as a famine food in Japan. Oak trees are usually known for the acorns but ring-cupped oak trees produce beautiful cylindrical flowers (4th and 5th photos) and red shoots (3rd photo), which look like the heads of Pteranodon (to me), from April to May.
Hi! I'm Kei Narujima. This is a blog about flowers/plants🌼and bugs🐛, and sometimes art and unique Japanese culture that make you smile or think (or so I hope)!! こんにちは。花や虫、そして時々日本の文化などについて書いてます😊。税務英語については https://zeimueigo.blogspot.com/ をご覧ください。
Ring-Cupped Oak (Quercus Glauca) アラカシ(粗樫)
Ring-cupped oak or Japanese blue oak trees (Quercus glauca) can be found almost across Japan. They produce acorns from October to November and the acorns are not only fed on by insects and birds but were eaten by people as a famine food in Japan. Oak trees are usually known for the acorns but ring-cupped oak trees produce beautiful cylindrical flowers (4th and 5th photos) and red shoots (3rd photo), which look like the heads of Pteranodon (to me), from April to May.
Golden Mimosa (Acacia Baileyana) ギンヨウアカシア(銀葉金合歓)
Japanese Chestnut (Castanea Crenata) 日本グリ(和栗)
The Japanese chestnut (Castanea crenata) is native to Japan and Korea and can be found across Japan. Chestnuts are used for many dishes in Japan, not only sweets but also mixed rice or kuri gohan.
Orange Sweet Osmanthus (Osmanthus Fragrans Var. Aurantiacus) キンモクセイ(金木犀)
Orange sweet osmanthus (Osmanthus fragrans var. aurantiacus), a variety of sweet osmanthus, is native to China and came to Japan in the 17th century. As its name suggests, the flowers are so fragrant that orange sweet osmanthus is designated as one of the three most fragrant flowers in Japan together with winter daphne and cape jasmine.
Pink and White Bush Clovers (Lespedeza Buergeri) キハギ(木萩)
| 2025/10/18 |
| 2025/10/18 |
Greater Death's Head Hawkmoth (Acherontia Lachesis) クロメンガタスズメ(黒面形天蛾)
英語の後に日本語が続きます。
I believe this is a caterpillar of a bee robber or greater death's head hawkmoth (Acherontia lachesis). I've seen many caterpillars and always find it difficult to know what it is but this is an easy one because of its size.
A larva of the bee robber is as long as 10 cm - 12 cm and changes its color. The caterpillar in the photo is on a stem with its head on top. Its Japanese name is "kuromengata suzume," translating to "black face hawkmoth" after a black (or skull) face on its thorax. Unusually, its English and Japanese names coincide, which makes me want to see its adults.
Japanese Cornel (Cornus Officinalis) サンシュユ(山茱萸)
The Japanese cornel (Cornus officinalis) is native to China, Korea, and Japan and can be found across Japan. The tree produces umbels of bright yellow flowers from March to April before leaves and berries that get redder from October to November.
Linden Arrowwood (Viburnum Dilatatum) ガマズミ(莢蒾)
| 2025/10/14 |
| 2025/10/5 |
| 2025/9/23 |
Common Straight Swift (Parnara guttata) イチモンジセセリ(一文字挵)
Butterflies usually fold wings when resting while moths with open wings. The common straight swift (Parnara guttata) is a butterfly but sometimes rests with open wings to absorb the warmth of the sun, thanks to which I've learned that their back is green (in the 1st and 2nd photos). The 3rd photo is of an ant carrying a dead common straight swift.
| 2025/10/13 |
| 2025/10/13 |
| 2025/10/13 |
Plains Cupid (Luthrodes Pandava) クロマダラソテツシジミ(黒斑蘇鉄小灰蝶)
Plains cupid or cycad blue (Luthrodes pandava) resembles pale grass blue. Both are beautifully shiny blue gray on the upper side. One of the distinct differences between the two (I can tell) though is that the former has an orange spot on the underside.
Pink Clematis ピンクのクレマチス
英語の後に日本語が続きます。
There are various types of clematis in terms of color, the number of petals, and whether single or double-flowered. These are single flowered pink clematis with only four petals. Clematis can be found across the globe. They generally flower from spring to autumn but some flower only once a year while others everblooming.
This clematis had only two flowers, suggesting its being near the end of flowering season.
| 2025/10/3 |
| 2025/10/3 |
Mealycup Sage & Maile Pilau Hornworm サルビア・ファリナセア & ホシホウジャク
英語の後に日本語が続きます。
Mealycup sages (Salvia farinacea) are native to North America and Mexico. They're perennial there but annual in Japan. Hovering over them are burnt-spot hummingbird hawkmoths (Macroglossum pyrrhosticta). Surprisingly to me, they're not bees or wasps but moths. I've seen them many times, but they move from one flower to another so swiftly that I had no chance to photograph them. Today, however, while I was taking photos of the sages, hawkmoths came to the flowers, luckily giving me the chance to take pictures of them. Their larvae's host plants are skunkvine.
| 2025/10/3 |
| 2025/10/3 |
| 2025/10/3 |
Lespedeza (Bush Clovers) 萩(ハギ)
Bush clovers are native to East Asia and can be found across Japan, flowering from July to September. The term "bush clover" is a kigo, i.e., a seasonal word or phrase associated with a particular season used in traditional forms of Japanese poetry, for autumn, but Lespedeza actually flowers from early summer to autumn.
| 2025/10/4 |
| 2021/6/4 Japanese bush clovers at Kan'-ei-ji temple in Ueno 上野寛永寺の萩 |
| 2021/6/4 Lespedeza at Kan'-ei-ji temple in Ueno 上野寛永寺の萩 |
| 2020/9/27 Mukojima Hykkaen Garden, 向島百花園 |
White Early Amethyst (Callicarpa Japonica F. Albibacca) コシロシキブ(小白式部)
英語の後に日本語が続きます。
This is white early amethyst (Callicarpa japonica f. albibacca). I've seen early amethyst, which is purple, many times and photographed them through the year from buds to flowers and to fruits but saw white fruits for the first time.
Early amethyst is native to Asia and can be found across Japan. It produces flowers in clusters from July to August and tiny drupes also in clusters from September to November. Its Japanese name is "koshiro shikibu," meaning white "komurasaki," which translates to "small East Asian beautyberry" because early amethyst and East Asian beautyberry resemble each other but the former is smaller than the latter.
Red, White, and Yellow Spider Lily (Lycoris) ヒガンバナ(曼珠沙華/彼岸花)
Spider lilies are native to China but can be found across Japan. They flower in September and therefore are called "Autumnal equinox flower" in Japanese. Spider lilies are known generally as red flowers (Lycoris radiata) but they produce white (Lycoris albiflora) and yellow (Lycoris traubii) flowers. A white spider lily is not a sibling of a red one, but a cross-breed of a red and a yellow spider lilies. It's interesting that a child of red and yellow flowers is white.
| 2025/9/26 |
| 2025/9/26 |
Early Amethyst (Callicarpa Dichotoma) コムラサキ(小紫)
Early amethyst (Callicarpa dichotoma) is native to Asia and can be found across Japan. It produces tiny pale pink flowers in clusters from July to August and tiny drupes also in clusters from September to November. The fruits are green at first and then turn purple. (Scroll down!!) Its Japanese name is "komurasaki," which translates to "small East Asian beautyberry" because the two resemble each other but the former (i.e., early amethyst) is smaller than the latter.
Auaxa Sulphurea キエダシャク(黄枝尺)
英語の後に日本語が続きます。
The summer is finally over this year and signs of autumn are here in Tokyo, one of which is the return of butterflies and moths. This is Auaxa sulphurea, one type of geometer moth. If it hadn't moved, I would have thought it was a leaf.
Auaxa sulphurea is seen across Japan and also Taiwan and can be easily identified by the horizontal brown red line. The caterpillars feed on plants usually in the rose family, known to mimic a rose twig.
| 2025/9/23 |
Meadowhawks (Sympetrum) 赤とんぼ
英語の後に日本語が続きます。
I've taken photos of blue dragonflies, such as blue-tailed forest hawks and white-tailed skimmers, several times but red ones for the first time (though I saw them many times in my childhood). I believe this is a meadowhawks (Sympetrum) but there are many types of meadowhawks and I don't know which one.
In Japan, there is a very famous song for children titled "Red dragonfly." I don't listen to children's songs almost at all but this red dragonfly made me feel a bit nostalgic.
| 2025/9/22 |
| 2025/9/22 |
Star Magnolia (Magnolia Stellata) シデコブシ(四手辛夷)
The star magnolia (Magnolia stellata) is native to Japan, flowering in early spring. 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.
Cabbage White Butterfly モンシロチョウ(紋白蝶)
| 2025/9/7 |
Blue-Striped Nettle Grub (Parasa Lepida) ヒロヘリアオイラガ(広縁青毒棘蛾)
英語の後に日本語が続きます。
What do you see in these photos? I thought it was a strange-shaped grasshopper but you know what? It's a moth! A blue-striped nettle grub (Parasa lepida). I found this on the backside of a leaf of a "drunken" Confederate rose tree. It is a native minor pest found in the Indo-Malayan region, including India, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia according to Wikipedia and as an introduced pest, it's currently found across Japan now. The adult (this one) is colorful and cute but its larvae have spines that contain venom.Pagoda Tree (Styphnolobium Japonicum) エンジュ(槐)
英語の後に日本語が続きます。
Cream yellow flowers scattered on the ground made me look up and find a Japanese pagoda tree (Styphnolobium japonicum)."Drunken" Confederate Rose スイフヨウ(酔芙蓉)
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, 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.
Ring-Cupped Oak (Quercus Glauca) アラカシ(粗樫)
英語の後に日本語が続きます。 Ring-cupped oak or Japanese blue oak trees (Quercus glauca) can be found almost across Japan. They produce acorns from Octobe...
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英語の後に日本語が続きます。 I read "A Pale View of Hills" by Kazuo Ishiguro a few years ago. The book was my second Ishiguro's book after...
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Japanese follows English. 英語の後に日本語が続きます。 This is prunus persica in Tokyo National Museum . The branches weep down to the ground and the flow...
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