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

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

They're Somei cherry blossoms (Prunus x yedoensis or Cerasus x yedoensis). Most Somei cherry trees in my neighborhood produce flowers too high to reach, but luckily I've found a tree by which there're stairs and I was able to take some close-up photos.

Somei cherry blossoms are slightly pink but almost white, different from other cherry tree blossoms like those below. If you want to compare 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

2023/3/29

2023/3/29

2023/3/29

Japanese Laurel (Aucuba Japonica) 青木（アオキ）

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

These are flowers of Japanese laurel (Aucuba japonica). I saw the buds early this month and who can imagine the usual buds to grow into such tiny star-shaped flowers!! 

Japanese laurel　青木

Akebia Quinata (Chocolate Vine) 木通（アケビ）

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

These are flowers of Akebia quinata or commonly known as chocolate vine. The shades ranging from pale green to burgundy purple are so chic, aren't they? Chocolate vine is monoecious, meaning it has male and female flowers on the same plant. What look like flowers in these photos are however not flowers but sepals and the objects protruding from the center of the what-look-like-flowers are the female flowers and the smaller pink and purple striped, onion-shaped objects beside the female flowers are their male counterparts. The fruits are edible, though I've never tried.  

Male (smaller striped) and female (protruding from the center of what-look-like-flowers)
flowers of Akebia quinata　木通の雄花と雌花

Before the sepals open　萼片が開く前

Chocolate vine　アケビ

Pink & White Oshima Cherry (Prunus Speciosa) 大島桜（オオシマザクラ）

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

These are Oshima cherry blossoms (Prunus speciosa). The color is beautiful and a change of the color from white to pink is more beautiful. Most Oshima cherry trees produce white blossoms but they produce pink flowers before dying. I especially love the pinkish white blossoms in the last two photos. 

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

• Taiwan cherry (Prunus campanulata)
• Cherry laurel (Prunus laurocerasus)
• Kawazu cherry (Cerasus lannesiana)

Pink Oshima cherry　ピンクの大島桜

Kawazu-Zakura Cherry Blossoms (Cerasus Lannesiana)? 河津桜?

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

The trees (which I believe are Kawazu-zakura) in my neighborhood are now in full bloom!! Yesterday it rained throughout the day, but today it's so sunny, which makes these beautiful pink blossoms look even more beautiful!!

I said "I believe they're Kawazu cherry trees" because it's a little late for them to blossom (most Kawazu cherry trees in Japan have finished their blossom season) and none of these trees have name tags. But it doesn't matter. Sunny weather and beautiful cherry blossoms against the blue sky makes me happy!! 

Kawazu cherry blossoms?　河津桜?

Cerasus lannesiana　カワヅザクラ

Red Camellia 真っ赤な落椿

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

People across Japan are excited about the start of the cherry blossom season, but they are missing something as beautiful as cherry blossoms. Camellia trees are now in full bloom, so the flower heads in my neighborhood are scattered on the ground as shown in the second photo!! 

Japanese camellia look like sasanqua and experts provide several ways to distinguish these two camellia flowers, i.e., the size of trees and the timing of flowering, but the most interesting difference is how they fall or die. When Japanese camellia flowers die, the flower heads fall off in their entirety and this way of dying was associated with beheaded human heads in the Edo (samurai) period. Naturally, despite their beauty, camellia flowers were unpopular among samurai. Unlike Japanese camellia, sasanqua flowers die with petals falling off one by one.

Red camellia is in full bloom　椿が満開

 

Camellia flower heads reminded samurai of beheaded human heads
これが首を連想させたそうです

Yoko Cherry Blossoms (Cerasus ‘Yoko’) 陽光桜（ヨウコウザクラ）

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

They're Yoko cherry blossoms (Cerasus ‘Yoko’). The pink blossoms stood out from a distance and have increased the number of types of cherry trees I've seen this spring so far to three. 

For the last several years, I've created a list of cherry blossoms I see in the spring and the lists last year and in the year before didn't include cherry laurel blossoms because the tree is not counted as cherry in Japan. (Click here to find out why.) But how can "cherry" laurel not be a cherry tree?! So I've included cherry laurel in the list this year as below. The list should include more!!🌸

• Taiwan cherry (Prunus campanulata)
• Cherry laurel (Prunus laurocerasus)

Yoko cherry blossoms　陽光桜

Cerasus ‘Yoko’　ヨウコウザクラ

Cherry Laurel (Prunus Laurocerasus) 紅葉李（ベニバスモモ）

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

They're cherry laurel blossoms (Prunus laurocerasus). They are cherry blossoms, but not counted as such in Japan. The western countries consider all the plants in the Prunus genus as cherry while Asian countries including Japan consider only those in the Cerasus subgenus (i.e., a subgenus of Prunus) cherry. 

Cherry laurel　紅葉李

Prunus laurocerasus　ベニバスモモ

Forsythia 連翹（レンギョウ）

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

Forsythia has started to flower. Many plants produce yellow flowers but forsythia's yellow is brighter than that of wintersweet or winter hazel.   

Forsythia　連翹

Forsythia　レンギョウ

Eurya Japonica (East Asian Eurya) 姫榊（ヒサカキ）

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

These are buds of Eurya japonica, known as East Asian eurya. I've not found new plants in my neighborhood these days because I've taken an early morning walk every day for over three years since Covid-19 started and learned the location of almost every plant. So, it was nice to find East Asian eurya and look it up on the internet!

East Asian eurya is in the Pentaphylacaceae family as Japanese Ternstroemia is, my another favorite plant. 

Eurya japonica　姫榊

East Asian eurya　ヒサカキ

White & Pink Thunberg's Meadowsweet 雪柳＆桃色雪柳

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They're Spiraea thunbergii or more commonly Thunberg spiraea or Thunberg's meadowsweet. The plant is called in Japan "snow willow" after its snow white flowers and flexible stems like willow. But you know what? There is another cultivar producing pinkish white flowers (i.e., Spiraea thunbergii 'Fujino Pinky')!

Spiraea thunbergii　雪柳

Spiraea thunbergii 'Fujino Pinky'　桃色雪柳