Alangium

　On my way out for a walk (not a stroll, I believe), I noticed a tree that had been on my mind for some time.

　It was a shrub with large leaves like a plane tree, but it was overhanging the path, and the shadows underneath tempted me to take a break to block out the growing sunlight. No, no, no, I haven't walked that far.

　When I noticed the buds of these flowers, I thought they had turned into pea pods. I was a little disappointed that I didn't notice the flower! I was a little disappointed.

　In the photo, the strange-shaped flower is covered with color and looks pale green, but it is actually a white flower.

　Yes, these are the flowers of Alangium platanifolium var. trilobatum. The buds are long and slender, and the flowers seem to curl up from the tip. That is why they look like this.

　During the summer bird season, the trees become deeper and greener, and although we can hear wild birds chirping, it is difficult to see them. Instead, it is the season when many trees are in full bloom.

　Even in the satoyama, we may see the flowers of mountain trees from afar, but we have never seen them up close. I am always wondering "what kind of flower is it? Of course, I have always seen them (in truth), but ....

　Well, I took one flower and examined its petals. When I removed the petal that was curled up, which looked like a single petal, I found that there were two petals in a pair.

　So, what looked like two petals is really four, and what looked like three petals is really six!

by DeepL

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　ウォーキング（散歩じゃないはず）途中で，ずっと気になっていた木がありました。

　まるでプラタナスのような大きな葉をしげらす低木ですが，道の上に覆い被さるように，そしてその下の影は強くなってきた陽射しをさえぎり一休みするように誘惑してきます。まだそんなに歩いてないのにね。

　この花のつぼみに気づいた時は，てっきり豆の鞘のような実になってしまったのだと思いました。花に気づかなかった！とちょっとガッカリもしたものです。

　写真は，不思議な形の花が，色被りして淡い緑になっていますが，本当は白い花です。

　そうそうこの花は ウリノキ Alangium  platanifolium var. trilobatum の花です。つぼみは細長く先端から巻き上がるように開花するようです。それでこんな感じなのでしょう。

　夏鳥の季節は，木々の緑も深くなり，野鳥のさえずる声は聞こえどもその姿はなかなか見られなくなってしまいます。その代わりに多くの木々の開花の季節でもあります。

　里山とはいえ，山の木々の花は遠くからは見ていても，意外に近くで見たことはなく，「何の花だろう？」となってしまいます。もちろん，ふだんから（ほんとうは）見ているはずですが … 。

　そうそう，一輪だけとって花びら（花弁）を調べてみましたよ。一枚に見える，クルッとまるまっているのをはずしてみると，何と 2枚一組になっているではありませんか。

　で，2枚に見えたのは ほんとうは 4まい，3枚に思えたのは ほんとうは 6枚だということになるのか！

📝 2022-06-13   

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撮影: 2022-06-10 GX7Ⅲ, G X VARIO PZ 4.0-5.6/45-175, 144mm f/5.5 1/500s ISO2500