Japanese Andromeda 'Rosea' (Pieris Japonica F. Rosea) アケボノアセビ（曙馬酔木）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

Japanese andromeda usually has white flowers but this species produces pink ones. They're Japanese andromeda 'Rosea' (Pieris japonica f. Rosea). The plant is called in Japanese "Asebi (馬酔木)" meaning a tree which makes horses drunk because horses that eat this plant, which contains a toxin, look drunk. Deer in the Nara Koen park in Nara prefecture don't eat this plant, resulting in many Japanese andromeda trees left growing in the park.

2025/3/4

2025/3/4

2025/3/4

Japanese Andromeda (Pieris Japonica) アセビ（馬酔木）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

A Japanese andromeda tree has blossomed unusually at this time of year. The plant is called in Japanese "Asebi (馬酔木)" meaning a tree which makes horses drunk after the fact that it contains a toxin which makes horses look drunk. Deer in the Nara Koen park in Nara prefecture don't eat this plant, resulting in many Japanese andromeda trees left in the park.

2025/1/2

2025/1/2

2025/1/2

Fruit of Japanese Andromeda (Pieris Japonica) アセビ（馬酔木）の実

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

The small brown fruits are so cute, aren't they? They're fruits of Japanese andromeda (Pieris japonica). When you're closer, you can find the beautiful contrast between the brown fruits and the green sepals partially covering them as well (2nd photo)! 

Fruits of Japanese andromeda (Pieris japonica)　アセビ（馬酔木）の実

Japanese Andromeda (Pieris Japonica) アセビ（馬酔木）

Japanese follows English. 英語の後に日本語が続きます。

Japanese andromeda (Pieris japonica) has started to produce fruits. Its flowers (white or red) and fruits are both tiny and cute, but don't forget that the Japanese andromeda is toxic to humans and pets in its entirety. The fruits will turn red soon, which I'm already looking forward to. 

Japanese andromeda (Pieris japonica)　アセビ（馬酔木）

Pieris Japonica (Japanese Andromeda) 馬酔木（アセビ）

Japanese follows English. 英語の後に日本語が続きます。

I saw bright red buds of Japanese andromeda (Pieris japonica) for the first time in the beginning of February and its rose pink flowers in the end of that month and at that time I thought I'd seen every beauty of the plant, i.e., buds and flowers, but I was wrong!  These'are seeds of Japanese andromeda. They resemble crape myrtle seeds, don't they?  

Seeds of Pieris japonica　馬酔木の実

Japanese andromeda　アセビ

  

Japanese andromeda flowers and seeds　馬酔木の花と種

  

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馬酔木の赤い蕾を初めて見たのは2月頭、そしてその後ピンクの花を見て馬酔木の全てを見たと思っていました。でもそれは間違い！種もこんなに可愛かったんですね。サルスベリの種に似てると思いませんか？

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Japanese Andromeda Buds are Opening! 馬酔木が咲き始めました！

Japanese follows English. 英語の後に日本語が続きます。

The buds of Japanese andromeda (Pieris japonica) I saw in late February have started to open! I couldn't imagine how the tiny buds would develop into flowers because the Japanese andromeda flowers are much bigger (i.e., nearly 1 cm long) than the buds (i.e., 0.5 cm long), but now I know how!! 

Japanese andromeda　馬酔木

Japanese Andromeda 'Rosea' (Pieris Japonica F. Rosea) アケボノアセビ（曙馬酔木）

Japanese follows English. 英語の後に日本語が続きます。

They're flowers of Japanese andromeda 'Rosea' (Pieris japonica f. Rosea). Japanese andromeda grow in several places in my neighborhood, but most of them produce white flowers. If you're interested in their cute buds, read this post! If you're interested in their Japanese name "asebi" meaning the plant making horses eating them look drunk, read this post!! 

Japanese andromeda 'Rosea'　アケボノアセビ

Pieris japonica f. Rosea　曙馬酔木

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アケボノアセビ（曙馬酔木）です。近所に馬酔木はたくさん咲いているのですがそのほとんどは白い馬酔木。ピンクはなかなか珍しいです。馬酔木のかわいい蕾にご興味ある方はこちらの記事もどうぞ！馬酔木の名前の由来にご興味ある方はこちらをどうぞ！

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Pieris Japonica (Japanese Lily of the Valley) 馬酔木（アセビ）

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I thought at first that they were fruits of Pieris japonica or more commonly the Japanese andromeda or Japanese lily of the valley, but they're actually the buds! I've seen the white flowers and known that the plant is so toxic that horses eating the plant look drunk, which is why its Japanese name is asebi (馬酔木), meaning "a tree which makes horses drunk," but didn't know they produce such cute tiny bright red buds!!

Buds of Pieris japonica　馬酔木の蕾

Red Pieris (Japanese Andromeda) 赤い馬酔木（アセビ）

Japanese follows English. 英語の後に日本語が続きます。

They're the flowers of Pieris japonica or more commonly known as Japanese andromeda or Japanese pieris. The red flowers surprised me because I thought Pieris had only white flowers. 

Its Japanese name is asebi, meaning "tree making horses drunk" because if a horse eats the plant, the horse looks drunk due to a toxin contained in the plant. But it's not only people that learn. Deer in the Nara park in Nara prefecture, western Japan, don't eat this plant, resulting in too many Japanese andromeda trees growing in the park. 

P.S. The blog is about things that make people smile but I haven't been able to smile for the last couple of weeks, and yesterday something that I'd been worried about started, i.e., Russia's invasion of Ukraine. I can't do anything, but I've been watching the situation, praying for the war to stop as soon as possible. 

Japanese andromeda アセビ

Pieris japonica 馬酔木

Dainty Bells - Vaccinium, Lily and Enkianthus ナツハゼ、馬酔木、灯台躑躅

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The following three flowers are all white, round and small (about 1 cm tall). Can you tell which is which?

- Vaccinium oldhamii Miquel
- Japanese andromeda or lily of the valley bush
- White enkianthus

Vaccinium oldhamii Miquel or Japanese blueberry
ナツハゼ

Japanese Andromeda Makes Horses Drunk? 馬酔木

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I often saw these small pink flowers, but didn't know what they were.

Japanese andromeda or lily of the valley bush
馬酔木

This is Japanese andromeda or Japanese lily of the valley. Its Japanese name is asebi  (馬酔木), which means "a tree which makes horses drunk." This is wrong as not alcohol but a toxin contained in the plant makes horses look drunk. Deer in the Nara Koen park in Nara prefecture don't eat this plant, resulting in too many Japanese andromeda trees left in the park.

Don't be fooled by their angelic appearance....

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馬酔木の花です。こんなに可憐なのに毒があるんですね。奈良公園では鹿が全然食べないので馬酔木ばかり残っているそうです。可愛い外見に騙されないようにしましょう！！

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