屁糞葛(ヘクソカズラ) skunk vine

　葉などを傷つけると悪臭を放つので、屁糞などという不名誉な名前をつけられました。雑草扱いですが、花自体は可愛いと思います。

　When the leaves and other parts are damaged, it gives off a bad smell, so it was called shameful name, "hekuso", it means  fart and shit in Japanese. It is treated as a weed, but I think the flowers themselves are cute.

牛旁(ゴボウ) burdock

　ゴボウの根を時々食べていますが、花を見るのは初めてです。一見するとアザミのようです。

　ゴボウを食べるのは世界でも日本だけと、長らく言われてきましたが、近年では海外でも食べるようになってきたようです。

　We often eat burdock roots in Japan, but I've never seen flowers before. At first glance, it looks like a thistle flower.

　It has been said for a long time that only Japanese eat burdock in the world,  but in recent years it seems that it has begun to be eaten overseas as well.

花潜(ハナムグリ) flower beetle

　ハナムグリが雄しべを鷲掴みにして、花粉にむしゃぶりついています。

　花は、百日紅(サルスベリ)です。

　A flower beetle clings the stamens and diggs into pollens.

　The flower is crape myrtle.

時計草 passion flower

　こんな奇っ怪で複雑な造形が、自然界で作られることに驚きます。

　英語の名前にある passion には情熱の意味もありますが、この植物名の passion は受難の意味です。

　I am surprised that such strange and complicated shape is made in the world of nature.

　The word of passion in the English name of the grass means "strong feeling", but it also has the other meaning of "suffering". Here, the meaning is the later.

　The pistil split into three looks like the long hand, the short hand, and the second hand on the clock, so it is called a grass of  clock in Japanese.

未草（ヒツジグサ） small white water-lily

　ヒツジグサと聞けば、動物の羊をイメージしますが、古時刻の未（ひつじ）時に咲くのが名前の由来です。

　Small white water-lily is "hituji-gusa" in Japanese.

　When I hear the "hituji-gusa" I think of sheep because of "hituji" means sheep and "gusa" means grass in Japanese. But in the old days, "sheep" has another meaning  "from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.", so the name of grass comes from the old name of time.

蓮の花托 torus of lotus

　蓮は花が枯れると、肥大化した花托（かたく）の表面にある穴に実（種）をつけます。この穴は、種を保持する容器ではなく、根に空気を送るための通気孔です。

　蓮の実は不気味と言われることもありますが、滑稽な感じがしなくもないです。

　After the flower, the lotus bears fruits (seeds) in the hole on the surface of the bloated torus. These holes are not cradles for seeds. They are air supply ports to send air to the roots.

　The lotus torus is sometimes said to be creepy, but depending on how you look at it, it is funny.

lotus torus

lotus flower

ロシアンセージ Russian sage

　白毛に覆われたロシアンセージは、柔らかな雰囲気を醸し出していました。ロシアと名前がついていますが、分布はアフガニスタン、パキスタン、ヒマラヤ西部です。

　Russian sage with white hair created a soft atmosphere. Although it has Russia in its name, the area of distribution is in Afghanistan, Pakistan and the western Himalayas.