Native palm trees in Chichijima

小笠原に自生するヤシの種類は二つあります。ビロウヤシはうちわ形の葉があって、辺りの植物より背が高いです。ノヤシは羽のような葉と木の幹に金の輪があります。

Ogasawara has two native palm trees. Both have very simple common names in Japanese: biroyashi, which means fan palm or Chinese fan palm,  and noyashi, a feather palm that uses the “no” of Nakano, which means field or rustic. The noyashi has beautiful, almost golden leaf bases on its trunk.  Below, in a nature sanctuary on the east side of Chichijima, the biroyashi rise above the low scrub on steep cliffs.

So many pink petals on this “monkey slip” tree

東京のサルスベリの木は花をいっぱい咲かせます。滑らかな木の幹から来る日本語の名前は面白いです。

Few flowering trees in Tokyo are as exuberant as Crape myrtle, which is commonly called sarusuberi in Japanese, which means monkey slips. That’s because its beautiful bark is remarkably smooth.