Fringed Iris, a birthday flower of April 27th

Fringed Iris, scientific name Iris Japonica, are called "shaga" in Japanese. I love both the name and the flower! It belongs to the Iris genus, the same botanical group as bearded irises, Siberian irises and Japanese irises etc. A fact that surprised me when I first heard it, because they look quite different to most other irises from a distance, but sure enough, when you look at them from above they resemble other iris flowers.

They are an enchanting spring flower that can be found naturally in woodlands around this time of year. You can also often find them on the grounds of temples. They typically bloom from April to May. In the Japanese language of flowers, Fringed Iris, represents "rebellion" (反抗) as well as "many friends" (友人が多い). Both meanings are said to come from the way it creates large, close-knit colonies that carpet the forest floor. 

In Japanese it can be written many different ways, including 射干, 著莪, and 胡蝶花, the latter meaning “butterfly flower”, which is also a name that is used in English for the flower sometimes too. The "Shaga" flower only appears once on the birthday flower calendar, as far as I am aware, on April 27th annually.