October 20

Birth Flower

Melastoma
Wild Peony Tibouchina

Scientific Name: Melastoma candidum
Family: Melastomataceae

Flower Language

  • tranquility
  • devoted love
  • nature
  • humble radiance

Characteristics

Colors:

Description

Nobutan is an evergreen shrub from the Melastomataceae family, native to Southeast Asia, named for its resemblance to wild peonies. It blooms with beautiful deep purple or blue-purple five-petaled flowers from August to December, characterized by yellow stamens in the center. Individual flowers last only a day but new ones continuously appear, providing long-lasting enjoyment. The leaves are elliptical, opposite, with three distinct parallel veins. The fruits are edible but stain the mouth black-purple when eaten. It's cultivated as a garden tree in warm regions and grows wild particularly in Okinawa and southern Kyushu. The purple flowers represent nobility in Japan and carry flower language meanings of tranquility and composure.

Trivia

  • Scientific name Melastoma means 'black mouth' from fruit staining effect
  • Individual flowers last one day but continuous blooming provides long enjoyment
  • Known by dialect name 'Sashigusa' in Okinawa
  • Purple flowers considered noble and special in Japanese culture

Uses

Ornamental
  • Garden plantings in warm regions
  • Ornamental pot cultivation
  • Display plants in parks and botanical gardens
Medicinal
  • Roots and leaves used in folk medicine
  • Used in traditional medicine in Southeast Asia

Caution: Consult professionals before medicinal use.

Culinary
  • Fruits
Other
  • Fruits and leaves used as dyes
  • High ornamental value
  • Food source for wildlife

Toxicity

Symptoms: No particular toxicity reported, but fruits stain mouth black

Persian Violet
Arabian Gentian German Violet

Scientific Name: Exacum affine
Family: Gentianaceae

Flower Language

  • I love you
  • your dreams are beautiful
  • whispers of love
  • temptation

Characteristics

Colors:

Description

Exacum is an annual plant from the Gentianaceae family, native to Socotra Island in the Indian Ocean, with the Japanese name 'Benihime-rindou' (red princess gentian). It produces numerous small blue-purple flowers 1-2cm in diameter across the entire plant, with yellow stamens in the center creating beautiful contrast. It blooms for a long period from May to November with a subtly sweet fragrance. Growing 20-50cm tall in naturally rounded, compact form, the leaves are somewhat succulent and glossy. The scientific name Exacum comes from Greek meaning 'to drive out,' referring to its once-believed detoxification properties. Originally perennial, it's treated as annual in Japan due to inability to survive winter.

Trivia

  • Socotra Island separated from mainland hundreds of years ago as 'Indian Ocean Galapagos'
  • Despite English name Persian Violet, belongs to different family than violets
  • Yellow stamens in flower center particularly beautiful
  • Originally perennial but treated as annual in Japan

Uses

Ornamental
  • Summer to autumn potted plant cultivation
  • Use in hanging baskets
  • Accent plants in mixed plantings
Medicinal
  • Once believed to have detoxification properties
  • No established medicinal uses currently

Caution: Medicinal use not currently recommended.

Culinary

Not suitable for culinary use

Other
  • High ornamental value
  • Long blooming period attraction
  • Compact growth habit

Toxicity

Symptoms: No particular toxicity reported

Gentian
Japanese Gentian Autumn Gentian

Scientific Name: Gentiana scabra var. buergeri
Family: Gentianaceae

Flower Language

  • victory
  • justice
  • sincerity
  • loving you in your sorrow

Characteristics

Colors:

Description

Gentian is a perennial herb from the Gentianaceae family, native to Japan, Korea, and China, representing autumn mountain wildflowers. From September to November, it opens several tubular blue-purple flowers about 2cm in diameter with five divisions. The flowers characteristically open only when sunlight hits them, remaining closed on cloudy or rainy days. Growing 10-100cm tall, the leaves are lanceolate, opposite, with three distinct parallel veins. The name derives from its bitterness being even more intense than bear bile, hence 'dragon's bile.' Long used as bitter stomachic medicine, it remains an important herbal medicine in traditional Chinese medicine. Also beloved as a representative flower for Respect for the Aged Day, symbolizing victory over illness.

Trivia

  • Flowers open only in sunlight, showing heliotropism
  • Minamoto no Yoshitsune and Kiso no Yoshinaka also used sasa-rindou crests
  • Classical plant appearing in Pillow Book and Tale of Genji
  • Gentiopicroside is main bitter compound

Uses

Ornamental
  • Autumn mountain wildflower appreciation
  • Respect for the Aged Day gifts
  • Tea ceremony flowers
Medicinal
  • Bitter stomachic for appetite loss and indigestion
  • Component in traditional Chinese prescriptions like Ryutan-shakanto
  • Treatment for urogenital inflammations

Caution: Avoid prolonged use; contraindicated for pregnant women and those with cold constitution.

Culinary

Not suitable for culinary use, medicinal purposes only

Other
  • Family crest motif use
  • Blue-purple dye extraction
  • Horticultural cultivation

Toxicity

Symptoms: No toxicity with appropriate use, but avoid prolonged use or during pregnancy

Burning Bush
Winged Spindle Winged Euonymus

Scientific Name: Euonymus alatus
Family: Celastraceae

Flower Language

  • dangerous games
  • your destiny
  • engraving your charm in my heart
  • deep affection

Characteristics

Colors:

Description

Nishikigi is a deciduous shrub from the Celastraceae family, native to Japan, Korea, and China, and one of the world's three great autumn foliage trees (alongside Nyssa and Sourwood). Growing 1-4m tall, its distinctive feature is corky wings on older branches, earning the nickname 'razor tree.' In autumn, leaves change from green through purple-brown to brilliant red, with beauty likened to brocade fabric, hence the name 'nishiki-gi' (brocade tree). It produces small pale green flowers about 8mm in diameter from May to June, followed by beautiful vermillion or orange fruits in autumn. These fruits are toxic, causing abdominal pain and vomiting if eaten. Akita Prefecture has the Nishikigi legend, a tragic love story of a young man placing nishikigi branches at his beloved's gate.

Trivia

  • Scientific name Euonymus means 'good reputation' referring to autumn beauty
  • Character '犀' (rhinoceros) used because bark wings resemble rhino skin
  • One of world's three great autumn foliage trees with maple and sourwood
  • Nishikigi legend adapted into Noh play by Zeami in Muromachi period

Uses

Ornamental
  • Garden trees for autumn foliage enjoyment
  • Use as hedges
  • Widely used in parks and street plantings
Medicinal
  • Historical records of use as laxative
  • Medicinal use not currently recommended

Caution: Avoid medicinal use due to toxic fruits.

Culinary

Fruits toxic, not suitable for consumption

Other
  • Ikebana flower arranging materials
  • Craft work using nishikigi branches
  • Red dye extraction

Toxicity

Toxicity Level: Moderate

Toxic Parts: Fruits, Seeds

Symptoms: Consuming fruits or seeds causes abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhea

Hemp
Cannabis Industrial Hemp

Scientific Name: Cannabis sativa
Family: Cannabaceae

Flower Language

  • destiny
  • fate
  • result

Characteristics

Colors:

Description

Hemp is an annual dioecious herbaceous plant from the Cannabaceae family, native to Central Asia, and an important plant used in Japan since the Jomon period. The square stem grows 1-3m tall, with palmate leaves having serrated edges. It produces wind-pollinated flowers from June to August, with male flowers yellow-green in clusters and female flowers green, densely packed in leaf axils. The stem's bast fiber becomes material for hemp cloth and rope, while seeds (hemp seeds) are familiar as ingredients in seven-spice pepper blend. In Shinto, it's revered as 'taima' (sacred hemp) and used for ritual implements like shimenawa ropes and gohei streamers. Industrial hemp contains less than 0.3% THC (psychoactive component) and is used for various purposes including fiber, food, cosmetics, and construction materials.

Trivia

  • Essential plant in Japanese life since Jomon period
  • Hemp seeds in current seven-spice blends are heat-treated to prevent germination
  • 90% of shimenawa ropes used in shrines currently made from Chinese hemp
  • Amazing growth ability reaching 3-4m in one year

Uses

Ornamental
  • Appreciation as sacred plant
  • Traditional shimenawa decoration materials
  • Cultural value exhibitions
Medicinal
  • Medicinal use currently regulated in Japan
  • Historical records of use for various symptoms

Caution: Medicinal use prohibited under Cannabis Control Law in Japan.

Culinary
  • Seeds (hemp seeds)
Other
  • Shinto ritual implements (shimenawa ropes, gohei streamers)
  • Hemp cloth, rope, and paper materials
  • Construction materials, cosmetics, bioplastics

Toxicity

Symptoms: Industrial hemp seeds and fibers contain no psychoactive components and are safe