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

Rose-Gold Pussy Willow (Salix Gracilistyla)　ネコヤナギ（猫柳）

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They were fluffy buds in mid-February (6th photo) and today they're fully open, partly frozen in an unexpectedly cold weather (3rd photo). They're rose-gold pussy willow flowers (Salix gracilistyla). The rose-gold pussy willow is dioecious, which means this willow is male or female, but it was too difficult for me to determine the sex, so I gave up.

The rose-gold pussy willow is called "neko yanagi" in Japanese, which translates to "cat🐈 willow," unusually the same meaning between English and Japanese. The willow symbolizes freedom.

2025/4/1

2025/4/2

Viola Grypoceras　タチツボスミレ（立坪菫）

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They're Viola grypoceras or tachi tsubo violets growing under cherry trees. It's quite easy to identify them based on their heart shaped leaves (3rd photo). There exist many types of violets but this type is most prevalent in Japan and can be seen usually in sunny spots.

2025/3/30

Chinese Fringe Flower (Loropetalum Chinense)　トキワマンサク（常盤万作）とベニバナトキワマンサク（紅花常盤万作）

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It looks like a ribbon on a gift box, doesn't it? These are Chinese fringe flowers (Loropetalum chinense). The ribbon shaped buds made me wonder if anyone would give me a present in a gift box with such a ribbon😆! The plant produces pink and white (3rd and 7th) flowers with four ribbon shaped petals, but to me, the flower seems to have more than four.

2025/3/30

2024/4/10

Variegated Camellias　斑入り椿

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It was a pleasant surprise to find two Japanese camellia trees both of which had pink and variegated blooms on the same tree (3rd and 6th photos). The pink ones on these trees are alike while the variegated ones are quite different. (Compare those in the 1st and 4th photos.)

Japanese camellias have been appreciated since at least the 8th century in Japan and have been cultivated for a long time across Japan and in other countries. As a result, there currently exist about 250 types of Japanese camellias worldwide.

2025/3/30

2025/3/29

Oshima Cherry Blossoms (Prunus Speciosa)　大島桜（オオシマザクラ）

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There are a variety of cherry blossoms and the king of them is Somei Yoshino, but Oshima cherry blossoms (Prunus speciosa) are not bad, i.e., as beautiful as, and more gorgeous than, Somei Yoshino cherry blossoms, aren't they?

Unlike Somei Yoshino cherry blossoms, which are pinkish white, Oshima cherry blossoms are whitish pink at first, then turn to baby pink. Another difference between Oshima and Somei Yoshino is that Oshima cherry trees produce blossoms and leaves at the same time (as you can see in these photos) while Somei Yoshino produces blossoms first and then leaves after blossoms fall.

2025/3/27

2025/3/30 Oshima cherry blossoms are like these at first 最初はこんな感じ

2025/3/29

2025/3/27

2025/3/29

Somei Yoshino Cherry Blossoms (Prunus x Yedoensis)　染井吉野（ソメイヨシノ）

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Somei Yoshino cherry trees (Prunus x yedoensis or Cerasus x yedoensis) have started to bloom. There are a variety of cherry trees but Somei Yoshino is so special in Japan that the term "cherry blossoms" often means Somei Yoshino cherry blossoms. Cherry blossoms are all gorgeous but differently from other flowers, i.e., always associated with death or ephemerality because of their short life span of one to two weeks.

The beauty reminds me of "The Makioka Sisters" by Junichiro Tanizaki, which ends with cherry blossoms viewing in Kyoto. The novel has no plot but is so intriguingly beautiful, based on the real life of the sisters of Tanizaki's wife, with a writing style which currently may not be necessarily popular due to long sentences. Its original title "sasame yuki" translates to "light snow," a metaphor of the Makioka family, which is declining and therefore showing the ephemeral beauty as cherry blossoms. The novel was translated into English by Edward G. Seidensticker. It's pretty long but worthwhile reading if you're interested in Japanese culture.

Somei Yoshino cherry blossoms are pinkish white as opposed to Oshima cherry blossoms, which at first are whitish pink, then turn to baby pink. If you're interested in other types of cherry blossoms, read the posts below!!

2025/3/29

2025/3/27

2025/3/29

2025/3/27

Flowering Peach (Prunus Persica Hanamomo)　ハナモモ（花桃）

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I bumped into these trees on my way to see cherry blossoms. They're flowering peach (Prunus persica Hanamomo). Finding the pinkish red (1st photo) and baby pink (2nd photo) blooms, which are larger than cherry blossoms, were a pleasant surprise to me, who hadn't taken an early morning walk for the last two days because of Asian dust covering Japan.

The Hanamomo flowering peach is native to China but has been improved in Japan to produce more flowers since the Edo period (1603 to 1868). The term "hanamomo" translates to "flower peach" in English. Unusually, the English and Japanese names coincide.

2025/3/27

Persian Speedwell (Veronica Persica)　オオイヌノフグリ（大犬の陰嚢）

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I've finally found Persian speedwells (Veronica persica) where I walk through every day! When I found them, however, they were closed (4th photo) because it was too early for them to open, so I revisited there, finding dozens of speedwells fully open under bright spring sunshine. If you don't know what the Japanese names of the speedwell family translate to in English, see below (and laugh!) and if you want to know why, read this post.

Grey field-speedwell (Veronica polita) => イヌノフグリ or "dog balls"
Persian speedwell (Veronica persica) => オオイヌノフグリ or "large dog balls"
Corn speedwell (Veronica arvensis) => タチイヌノフグリ or "standing dog balls"

By the way, baby blue eyes (or nemophilas), which are also in bloom now, resemble Persian speedwells but the perception and treatment of these two is completely different in Japan. Baby blue eyes are "planted" in parks and gardens with tags proudly showing the name "Nemophila" while Persian speedwells just "grow" here and there unattended. It's unfair for the speedwell, isn't it?

2025/3/26

2025/3/24

2025/3/26

Buttercup Witch Hazel (Corylopsis Pauciflora)　ヒュウガミズキ（日向水木）

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I look down while walking these days to find spring flowering plants and this is one of them, buttercup witch hazel or winter hazel (Corylopsis pauciflora). The witch hazel tree is 20 - 30 cm tall, much smaller than the spike winter hazel tree I saw early this month.

Buttercup witch hazel resembles spike winter hazel, but the former produces a cluster of 1 to 3 flowers while the latter's cluster consists of 5 to 10 flowers.

2025/3/20

Carolina Cranesbill (Geranium Carolinianum)　アメリカフウロ（亜米利加風露）

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It was very warm last weekend, which has accelerated the blooming of small plants like this one, i.e., Carolina cranesbill (Geranium carolinianum). Carolina cranesbill flowers are so tiny (1 cm in diameter) and lovely that no one can expect it to produce such funnily devil shaped fruits (2nd and last photos), don't you think?

2025/3/24

Japanese vs. European Dandelions　日本タンポポと西洋タンポポ

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Since I learned Japanese and European dandelions (Taraxacum) and their cross-breeds co-exist in Japan a week ago, I've been looking for the Japanese ones and found them just this morning. The 1st photo is Japanese and the 2nd photo European. They look almost the same but one thing. The Japanese one's bracts are closed while the European one's are open.

I wanted to find Japanese dandelions because I saw none a week ago. They're a minority, which I believe is true. The ratio between Japanese and European dandelions where those in these photos grow is nearly 1:100.

Japanese dandelion's bracts are closed　日本タンポポの総苞片は閉じている

Western dandelion's bracts are open　西洋タンポポの総苞片は開いている

Japanese Cornel (Cornus Officinalis)　サンシュユ（山茱萸）

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The Japanese cornel (Cornus officinalis) trees I've been observing since January are now in full bloom! You can't tell "full bloom (1st photo)" from "almost full bloom two weeks ago (2nd photo)" from a distance but you can when looking closely at the umbels.

Bright yellow like Japanese cornel flowers is called a "vitamin color" in Japan because it energizes people, which I believe is true. Many stopped to look at the pretty flowers talking about the joy of spring but surprisingly and sadly most I talked with said they'd never heard of the tree. Japanese cornel is one of the most underestimated trees because of their blossoming at almost the same time as cherry (and Japanese apricot) blossoms.

2025/3/20

2025/3/9

2025/3/20

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