Double-Flowered Roses of Sharon 八重咲きの木槿

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The rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus) produces single and double-flowered blooms. Single-flowered blooms are elegantly beautiful while double-flowered ones are gorgeous. I like both!

2026/7/1

Cape Jasmine (Gardenia Jasminoides) クチナシ（梔子）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

The cape jasmine (Gardenia jasminoides) is native to eastern Asia and can be found across Japan, producing single and double flowered blooms from June to July in Tokyo. When its buds start to open, their green bases are still visible, which gives the blooms a beautiful color accent.

Cape jasmine's Japanese name is "kuchi nashi," which translates into "no mouth," because the fruits (scroll down) don't crack even after ripening. The fruits are used to give a yellow color (unexpected from the flower's white) to food, such as kuri kinton or mashed sweet potato with chestnuts, one of the traditional Japanese New Year foods. 

Double flowered cape jasmine rarely produces fruits because most of their stamens have transformed into petals like some species of the Japanese camellia. 

2026/6/17

Double Flowered Fish Mint 八重咲きのドクダミ

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

Fish mints (Houttuynia cordata) are native to Asia and can be found across Japan. Those in the post are specifically double-flowered fish mints (Houttuynia cordata var. Plenus), one of my favorite plants! Fish mints produce beautiful white flowers from May to August in Japan although what look like petals are actually bracts as those of Cornus kousa are. 

Fish mints are used in Chinese medicine and in Japan, fish mint tea is said to be effective for skin problems. I suffered from severe acne in my teenage years so my late maternal granny sometimes sent me fish mint tea bags. I don't know if they were effective but I believe that thanks to the tea, I have no acne or any serious skin problems now. 

2026/5/29 Triplets

"Thousand-Flowered" Pink, Red, and White Japanese Camellias 千重咲きのピンク、赤、白の椿

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

Japanese camellia (Camellia japonica) has many cultivars and this is one of them, "thousand flowered" Japanese camellias. You don't see stamens because their stamens (and pistils) have disappeared or degenerated, or changed into petals.  

The fact that these camellias have no stamens gave rise to one question for me, i.e. how a thousand flowered camellia dies. Will it fall off in its entirety like other usual Japanese camellias even though it has no stamens? The question occurred to me because the stamens of Japanese camellias (more specifically, the filament part) connect with petals, which allows their unique way of dying as opposed to sasanqua camellias, which die with petals falling off one by one without such connection. The answer is in the 7th photo. Even without stamens, a thousand flowered Japanese camellia falls off in its entirety. A Japanese camellia is a Japanese camellia whether it has stamens or not.  

2026/3/21

2026/3/21

2026/3/8

2026/1/17

2026/3/8

Double-Flowered White Camellia Sasanqua (Sasanqua Camellia) 八重咲きの真っ白のサザンカ（山茶花）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

Camellia sasanqua is native to, and can be found across, Japan. So if you're in Tokyo at this time of year, you would see camellia sasanqua trees in many places but when it comes to the double flowered pure white ones, I guess not so often. The pink ones are the most prevalent, followed by red. I've been able to find only this tree so far with pure white blooms in my neighborhood.   

2025/12/18

2025/12/17

2024/12/26

GREEN Fish Mint (Houttuynia Cordata Var. Plenus) 緑の八重咲きドクダミ

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I saw double-flowered fish mint (Houttuynia cordata var. Plenus) for the first time last year and a green one for the first time yesterday! Can you believe that? Fish mints can be double-flowered and also GREEN. Single flowered fish mints are everywhere at this time of year, but not double-flowered ones. I've found only two places where double-flowered ones are growing and only one green fish mint in my neighborhood. 

2025/5/23

2025/5/18

2025/5/18

Double Flowered Pink Japanese Camellia (Camelia Japonica) ピンクの八重つばき（八重椿）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

I thought this was a camellia sasanqua until yesterday but I may be wrong. The more I looked at this, the more it looked like a Japanese camellia because (i) the petals are thicker than those of a camellia sasanqua; (ii) the leaves are bigger than those of sasanquas; and (iii) the leaves are less toothed than sasanquas'. The thing is I couldn't tell for sure because there was no flower on the ground yet, which is the easiest way to tell which is which. I need to wait for a while to see how the flower dies. 

The Japanese camellia was unpopular in the Edo (samurai) period among samurai because the flower falling off in its entirety (unlike a sasanqua flower, which dies with petals falling off one by one) reminded samurai of beheaded human heads. 

2025/1/9

2025/1/9

Double-Flowered Pink Camellia ピンクの八重椿

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

This looks like an artificial flower, doesn't it? But it's not. This is a Japanese camellia (Camelia japonica). I've seen Japanese camellia many times, but this is the most beautifully-shaped double flowered camellia I've ever seen. 

Double-flowered pink camellia　ピンクの八重椿

Double-Flowered Balloon Flower (Platycodon Grandiflorus) 八重桔梗（ヤエキキョウ）

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

These are double-flowered balloon flowers (Platycodon grandiflorus). I wrote about single-flowered balloon flowers last month. Just the single or double difference makes them completely different flowers.   

Double-flowered balloon flower　八重桔梗

Platycodon grandiflorus　ヤエキキョウ

Double Pink Flowered Cherry Blossoms 八重桜

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

They're double flowered cherry blossoms. Cherry trees generally bloom from early February (e.g., Kawazu cherry and Taiwan cherry) to mid-to late March (e.g., Oshima and Somei cherry trees), then early April (e.g., double-flowered cherry and mountain cherry). So, the blooming of double flowered cherry trees means the cherry blossom season this year will soon be over. But before that, enjoy these pretty "chubby" blossoms!!

Below are the cherry blossoms I've seen this year. If you're interested in them, read these posts, too!!

• Taiwan cherry (Prunus campanulata)
• Cherry laurel (Prunus laurocerasus)
• Kawazu cherry (Cerasus lannesiana)
• Pink & white Oshima cherry (Prunus speciosa)
• Weeping cherry blossoms
• Somei cherry (Prunus x yedoensis)

Double pink flowered cherry blossoms　八重桜

Double pink flowered cherry blossoms　八重桜

Late Blooming Double-Flowered Prunus Serrulata Blossoms 遅咲きの八重咲き里桜

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

Yoshino and Oshima cherry blossoms have fallen in Tokyo, but if you think that the cherry blossom season in Tokyo this year is over, you’re wrong. Late blooming Prunus serrulata blossoms are currently in full bloom. They're gorgeous, i.e., double flowered, and cute because of the pink color. 

Prunus serrulata blossoms 里桜 

Double Flowered Clematis 八重咲きのクレマチス

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

The pale purple color caught my eye. This is double-flowered clematis. 

Clematis クレマチス