Aug 5, 2019
Summer flower, the monkey slip tree
Photo, Nyon Nyon
You might see very tall, shrubby trees full of brilliant pink or ivory flowers right now in the Kanto region. You might notice magenta, scarlet, or even apple blossom pink ones. And they love the hot sun.
It took me a bit of research to figure out that the Japanese name for this, サルスベリ, sarusuberi, is not Salisbury transliterated. Nope, it means monkey slippery, referring to the very smooth bark on the trunks. The tree is called Japanese crepe myrtle. That’s because the flowers are frilly like crepe fabric.
The Chinese characters for the name of this tree are descriptive of the flowers rather than the trunks - 百日紅 - 100 days of red. The sarusuberi hang on to their flowers well into the autumn.
They provide a good bit of shade. I like to rest under them while the flowers thrive in the blazing heat in full sun. I’ll just chill here while you bake your frilly blossoms.
2 Comments
edthethe
on Aug 6
There is a street of them on the way to the pool I go to. It's the only share u have all the way so I cling to them. My mawmaw had similar crepe myrtle in Louisiana and I loved them then!
TonetoEdo
on Aug 12
@edthethe Stick to the sarusuberi on your walks. Looks like we're in for still more blazing heat.