Japanese Cheesewood (Pittosporum Tobira) トベラ（扉）

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

The fruits of Japanese cheesewood (Pittosporum tobira) in my neighborhood have started to split open to show bright red seeds. I've enjoyed seeing the fruits every winter for the last several years and am still intrigued by their color change from deep green in summer (3rd and 4th photos) to creamy yellow with such glossy red seeds. 

Japanese cheesewood is called "tobira" in Japanese, meaning "door" after an old Japanese ritual of hanging a sprig of tobira on the door with a baked sardine head on February 3 or setsubun, i.e., the date before the beginning of spring on the lunisolar calendar, to expel evil spirits.  

Pittosporum Tobira (Japanese Cheesewood) トベラ

英語の後に日本語が続きます。

This is Japanese cheesewood (Pittosporum tobira). Although these red seeds are edible, they are sticky and have no taste or smell, and aren't yummy at all. (But the flowers smell sweet while leaves smell cheese, which is why it's called Japanese cheesewood.)

The term "tobira" contained in its name is a Japanese word, meaning "door." The plant is named as such because a sprig of this (or holly) is hung on the door on the day of setsubun, i.e., February 3, together with a baked sardine head. This is a ritual for setsubun, i.e., the date before the beginning of spring on the lunisolar calendar, to expel evil spirits.  

May 2022

With crane flies in May 2022　ガガンボと