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posted: April 30th, 2014 |
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This page begins with April 1st and a trip to Koishikawa Botanical Garden to view the cherry blossoms. After that we take you to the Minami (South) Takao Area on April 5th and that is all that is on this page. Click on any thumbnail to begin.
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| Begin April 1st |
On April 1st the Cherry Blossom viewing (Hanami in Japanese) in the Tokyo Area was about at its peak, so we took a trip to Koishikawa Botanical Garden to see some cherry blossoms and eat a nice lunch under the cherry trees. The 1st and 3rd shots in this row show cherry blossoms and the center photo is of a beautiful Viola mandshurica plant.
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 Apr01_006_ KoishikawaBG_CherryRC |
 Apr1st_01_ KoishikawaBGRC |
 Apr1st_15_ KoishikawaBGRC |
Here are 3 shots of beautiful cherry blossoms.
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 Apr01_008_ KoishikawaBG_CherryRC |
 Apr1st_16_ KoishikawaBGRC |
 Apr01_014_ KoishikawaBG_CherryRC |
The first shot here is a rather zoomed in shot of a cherry tree. The 2nd shot shows a Viola yedoensis plant with flowers and the 3rd shot shows some Viola diffusa.
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 Apr1st_17_ KoishikawaBGRC |
 Apr1st_22_ KoishikawaBGRC |
 Apr01_023_Koishikawa BG_Viola_diffusaRC |
In 1st position in this row is another shot of Viola diffusa, then the Koishikawa "Main Street" with a staff member setting up a table to sell postcards and so on. The 3rd shot is also Viola diffusa.
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 Apr1st_25_ KoishikawaBGRC |
 Apr01_041_Koishikawa BG_CherryBlossomsRC |
 Apr1st_28_ KoishikawaBGRC |
Here are 3 beautiful shots of cherry blossoms.
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 Apr01_043_Koishikawa BG_CherryBlossomsRC |
 Apr1st_33_34_Koishikawa BG_PanoramaRC |
 Apr1st_44_ KoishikawaBGRC |
And here are more cherry blossoms. The 3rd shot shows Kazuya carrying our lunch in a plastic bag. We had a bit of trouble finding an "out of the crowd" spot to be able to eat our lunch, but we finally found a spot which was satisfactory to us.
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 Apr01_064_Koishikawa BG_CherryBlossomsRC |
 Apr1st_48_ KoishikawaBGRC |
 Apr01_075_Koishikawa BG_Cherry_KazuyaRC |
In the first shot in this row you can see why it can be a bit difficult to find a spot to eat one's lunch without a bunch of hens chattering, babies squalling and so on. The 2nd and 3rd shots show a very interesting and strangely colorful bush - Enkianthus quinqueflorus.
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 Apr1st_75_ KoishikawaBGRC |
 Apr01_083_KoishikawaBG_ Enkianthus_quinqueflorusRC |
 Apr1st_89_ KoishikawaBGRC |
And here are 3 more shots of that Enkianthus quinqueflorus bush.
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 Apr01_087_KoishikawaBG_ Enkianthus_quinqueflorusRC |
 Apr1st_90_ KoishikawaBGRC |
 Apr01_091_KoishikawaBG_ Enkianthus_quinqueflorusRC |
In this row are 2 shots of Corylopsis sinensis and then a White Dandelion - Taraxacum albidum.
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 Apr01_099_KoishikawaBG _Corylopsis_sinensisRC |
 Apr1st_94_ KoishikawaBGRC |
 Apr01_106_KoishikawaBG _Taraxacum_albidumRC |
Here is another shot of the White Dandelion (Taraxacum albidum) and then two shots of an incredibly red cherry - Prunus cerasoides var. campanulata.
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 Apr1st_113_ KoishikawaBGRC |
 Apr1st_124_ KoishikawaBGRC |
 Apr01_116_KoishikawaBG_Prunus _cerasoides_var_campanulataRC |
And here are 2 more shots of Viola diffusa and then a final shot of Viola yedoensis.
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 Apr1st_140_ KoishikawaBGRC |
 Apr1st_146_ KoishikawaBGRC |
 Apr1st_148_ KoishikawaBGRC |
Due to the fact that Koishikawa Botanical Garden is the only place we find Viola diffusa, this is surely the final photo of it you'll see before next year. That is followed by 2 shots of Fritillaria verticillata (Baimo in Japanese). Usually we only find 3 or 4 plants of this species here, but this year they are quite abundant - wonder why?
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 Apr1st_188_ KoishikawaBGRC |
 Apr01_137_KoishikawaBG _Fritillaria_verticillataRC |
 Apr1st_192_ KoishikawaBGRC |
And here are the final 2 shots taken at Koishikawa Botanical Garden - both of Fritillaria verticillata (Baimo in Japanese).
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 Apr01_144_KoishikawaBG _Fritillaria_verticillataRC |
 Apr01_147_KoishikawaBG _Fritillaria_verticillataRC |
| End April 1st, Begin April 5th |
On April 5th we went out to the Minami Takao (South Takao) Area to see what species of flowering plants were in bloom. The first thing we found was this ornamental peach tree. We found quite a number of Jack-in-the-Pulpit (Arisaema) sp.) plants.
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 Apr05_03_Minami Takao_PeachRC |
 Apr05_06_Minami Takao_ArisaemaRC |
 Apr5th_Minami Takao001_PeachRC |
Here are 3 shots of Viola phalacrocarpa f. glaberrima (Oka Sumire in Japanese).
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 Apr5th_MinamiTakao004_Viola PhalacrocarpaFGlaberrimaRC |
 Apr05_07_MinamiTakao_ Viola_phalacrocarpaRC |
 Apr05_14_MinamiTakao_ Viola_phalacrocarpaRC |
The first and 3rd shots here show Viola bisseti (aka bissetii). The center shot is another specimen of Jack-in-the-Pulpit (Arisaema sp.).
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 Apr05_28_MinamiTakao_ Viola_bissetiiRC |
 Apr05_19_Minami Takao_ArisaemaRC |
 Apr05_33_MinamiTakao_ Viola_bissetiiRC |
In this row are 3 different species of violets. The first is Viola obtusa, the 2nd is Viola bisseti and the 3rd is Viola tokubuchiana var. takedana.
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 Apr5th_MinamiTakao 012_ViolaObtusaRC |
 Apr05_41_Minami Takao_Viola_bissetiiRC |
 Apr05_45_MinamiTakao_Viola _tokubuchiana_var_takedanaRC |
The first shot in this row is another of an amazing Viola bisseti and that is followed by 2 shots of Viola phalacrocarpa. In Row 15 we showed you Viola phalacrocarpa f. glaberrima - what is the difference in the 2 species? The Latin name gives us a clue - glaberrima comes from glabrous, smooth or hairless. That means that the Viola phalacrocarpa f. glaberrima has a smooth flower stalk, while the Viola phalacrocarpa has a flower stalk covered with tiny hairs - look at the flower stem insert in the center photo and then go back to Row 15 and look closely at the 3rd shot for comparison.
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 Apr05_47_MinamiTakao _Viola_bissetiiRC |
 Apr5th_MinamiTakao026 _ViolaPhalacrocarpa_SmRC |
 Apr5th_MinamiTakao028 _ViolaPhalacrocarpaRC |
The first 2 shots in this row show this difference between Viola phalacrocarpa f. glaberrima and Viola phalacrocarpa quite nicely. The 3rd shot is a Viola tokubuchiana var. takedana.
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 Apr5th_MinamiTakao029_Viola PhalacrocarpaFGlaberrimaRC |
 Apr5th_MinamiTakao031 _ViolaPhalacrocarpaRC |
 Apr05_64_MinamiTakao_Viola _tokubuchiana_var_takedanaRC |
Click the above button for a Special Page dedicated to most of the Violets which we have identified with confidence. |
The first shot in this row is another of Viola tokubuchiana var. takedana while the 2nd and 3rd shots show you a relatively rare violet - the Viola chaerophylloides f. sieboldiana. It is becoming more rare here as it seems that the number of wild boars is increasing and, although they do not eat this plant, their rooting in the earth in this immediate area is destroying many of this perennial species.
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 Apr5th_MinamiTakao036_Viola TokubuchianaVarTakedanaRC |
 Apr5th_MinamiTakao054_Viola ChaerophylloidesVarSieboldianaRC |
 Apr5th_MinamiTakao057_Viola ChaerophylloidesVarSieboldianaRC |
In 1st position in this row is a Viola eizanensis and then in the center is a Viola hondoensis. In 3rd position is an Omphalodes japonica.
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 Apr5th_MinamiTakao063 _ViolaEizanensisRC |
 Apr05_80_MinamiTakao _Viola_hondoensisRC |
 Apr05_85_MinamiTakao_ Omphalodes_japonicaRC |
Here is a final shot of that relatively rare violet - the Viola chaerophylloides f. sieboldiana. The 2nd and 3rd shots show Trout Lily Erythronium japonicum flowers.
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 Apr5th_MinamiTakao071_Viola ChaerophylloidesVarSieboldianaRC |
 Apr05_88_MinamiTakao _Erythronium_japonicumRC |
 Apr5th_MinamiTakao085_ ErythroniumJaponicumRC |
Here are 2 more shots of Trout Lilies (Erythronium japonicum) and then a shot which shows 2 kinds of Skunk Cabbage. The White-flowered one is Lysichiton camtschatcense and the Brownish/Purplish-flowered one is Symplocarpus foetidus.
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 Apr05_94_MinamiTakao _Erythronium_japonicumRC |
 Apr05_96_MinamiTakao _Erythronium_japonicumRC |
 Apr05_102_MinamiTakao_Lysichiton_ camtschatcense_Symplocarpus_foetidusRC |
This is such a rare occurrence that we are showing all of our best shots of this Skunk Cabbage patch. The White-flowered one is Lysichiton camtschatcense and the Brownish/Purplish-flowered one is Symplocarpus foetidus.
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| End April 5th, End Page 1 |
| Thanks so much for taking the time to look at this page. Now, please go on to Page 2 for the continuation of this month's adventures. |
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