Autumn Leaves - Enkianthus Perulatus (White Enkianthus) 満天星躑躅（ドウダンツツジ）の紅葉

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

The red and yellow contrast caught my eye. They're leaves of Enkianthus perulatus (white enkianthus) and ginkgo. I take a morning walk everyday and one thing I hate about it these days is that the day is getting shorter, but that's why these bright and energetic colors attracted my attention. 

Enkianthus perulatus (white enkianthus)　満天星躑躅（ドウダンツツジ）

Enkianthus Perulatus (White Enkianthus) 灯台躑躅（ドウダンツツジ）

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

These are leaves of Enkianthus perulatus, commonly called white enkianthus. As almost all the flowers and red and yellow autumn leaves in my neighborhood are gone, the bright red was so beautiful in the early winter morning.   

Enkianthus perulatus　灯台躑躅

Enkianthus Perulatus (White Enkianthus) Winter Buds Start to Open 灯台躑躅（ドウダンツツジ）の冬芽が開きました

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

A week ago, I saw the tiny (i.e., less than 1 cm tall) capsule shaped winter buds of enkianthus perulatus (i.e., white enkianthus). They were buds but not "flower" buds but "winter" buds. A winder bud, i.e., a bud of not only flowers, but also leaves and twigs, is dormant and enclosed in a protective covering to survive winter (Lexico). And ta-dah! See? They've started to open!! 

I didn't expect, however, that the buds would grow into such bright red shoots, so I googled and found Professor Kunijiro Yoshitama at Kumamoto University saying that although it wasn't fully understood yet why the shoots of some plants are red, the following are known:

1. The temperature of red leaves is higher than that of green leaves.
2. The red pigment in leaves (i.e., anthocyanin) is antibacterial and prevents larvae.
3. The red pigment in leaves (i.e., anthocyanin) promotes the development of chloroplast while protecting the plastid from ultraviolet rays.   

How clever of plants! By the way, a baby is "aka chan" in Japanese, meaning "red chan" because babies are red when they're born😆. ("Chan" is one of the Japanese honorifics most frequently used for small children and girls.)

Enkianthus perulatus winter buds start to open  灯台躑躅の冬芽が開き始めました

The baby shoots are red for reasons! 若葉が赤いのには理由があるんです！

Not open yet on January 15  1月15日はまだ開いていませんでした

(If you wish to post your comment but don't have a Google account, select "anonymous" from the drop down menu titled "comment as"!)

先週、灯台躑躅（ドウダンツツジ）の冬芽について書いたのですが、昨日、その冬芽から真っ赤な若芽が伸びているのを発見！でも若芽ってどうして赤いの？不思議に思ってググったら「植物Q&A」というサイトを見つけました。それによると、一部の植物の芽や若葉が赤い理由は分かってないのですが、以下は証明されているとのこと。

1. 葉が赤いと葉の温度（葉温）は高くなる。
2. 赤い色素（アントシアン）には抗菌作用や虫の幼虫を寄せつけない作用がある。
3. 赤い色素は、葉緑体（緑色色素を作り、光合成を行う器官）の発達を促進する働き、および発達中の葉緑体を紫外線から守る働きを持つ。

植物って賢いのね！ちなみに赤ちゃんは生まれたとき赤いから「赤ちゃん」だそうです😆。

(Google アカウントを持ってない方は、コメント記入後に「Google アカウント」をクリックし、「匿名」か「名前/URL」を選択してからご記入ください！)

Winter Buds of Enkianthus Perulatus (White Enkianthus) 灯台躑躅（ドウダンツツジ）の冬芽

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

You think they're flower buds of some plants? If you do, you're wrong as I was😆!

I found these tiny (i.e., less than 1 cm tall) capsule shaped red things two weeks ago in the garden of the Parliamentary Museum in Tokyo. I thought they were some flower buds, so I googled them using the keywords "red," "flower," "bud," "tiny," and "winter," but couldn't identify them. So, a week later, I went to the garden again, then found a tree tag "enkianthus perulatus" on one of the shrubs (the last photo). The enkianthus perulatus is commonly called "white enkianthus." 

But another question came up. The flowers of enkianthus perulatus are white, not red. So, I googled again and learned what I found in the garden weren't "flower" buds but "winter" buds. A winter bud is a dormant plant bud enclosed in a protective covering which enables it to survive during the winter (Lexico). In short, winter buds are the buds of not only flowers, but also leaves and twigs. Now I'm thinking about when to go to the garden again to see how they grow😊.   

Winter buds of enkianthus perulatus on January 15  灯台躑躅の冬芽

Many winter buds of white enkianthus on January 15 トウダイツツジの冬芽

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

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

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

Tiny Lovely Flowers ちっちゃいお花たち

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

They are so small, so they may be ignored... But still, they live their own lives, some even difficult lives in different ways.

1. Long headed poppy
It looks so pure and innocent, but don't judge a book by its cover..... Several local governments in Japan have designated this orange poppy as an invasive plant that can transform ecosystems.

1. Long headed poppy - Don't be fooled by the appearance!
ナガミヒナゲシは繁殖力が強い