Two famous Japanese wildflowers that announce the arrival of spring
I’d like to talk about two famous Japanese wildflowers that announce the arrival of spring. They are also known as "spring ephemerals." This is because it only appears above ground for a short period of about 4-5 weeks in early spring. By the way, ephemeral means "a life of one day," "short-lived," "fleeting." One is called Katakuri in Japanese, Kata means half and kuri means a chestnut, named after the shape of its underground bulb, but its English name is the dogtooth violet flower. So, it gives a very different impression from its Japanese name. After blooming with distinctive, striking reddish-purple flowers in early spring, the fruit develops after flowering, and the capsule splits open to release the seeds. But it is said that it takes about 8 to 9 years from germination to flowering. There is a W-shaped pattern at the base of the petals. The leaf blade is soft in texture and has a dark purple pattern resembling camouflage. The other is...
