Spring flowers in Japan: delphinium

Delphinium are in full bloom in the Kanto plain right now. Delphinium are a plant that comes in different shades of white, pink, purple and blue. There are many different varieties within the genus. In Japan they are most commonly called derufiniumu, デルフィニウム after the English name, which actually comes from Greek, but there is a Japanese name too.

In English they are named Delphinium but it is from the Greek word delphis which means dolphin. They were thus named because the bulbs were said to resemble dolphins. Interestingly, they were also named in Japanese, oohiensou 大飛燕草, for their appearance, but for resembling a flying swallow! 

Although Delphinium grow in May or June in Japan, they are the flower of March 23rd and April 19th. They start of small and take about a week or two to reach full bloom at which stage they can be up to one meter tall. The photo in this post was taken before the flowers reached full bloom, shortly after they had just started blooming. They only keep full bloom for three to seven days.  

In the prefecture where I live, Saitama Prefecture, you can see Delphinium in open gardens at this time of year. But there is also a relatively large display of them Musashi Kyuryo National Government Park, or Shinrin Park as it is most commonly called. Shinrin Park reviewed on City-cost here, and more information about the Shinrin Park delphinium display (external site). 

Have you seen any delphinium in bloom this year?