2009年10月11日日曜日

What's Blooming Now?


October, and the kinmokusei is blooming its beautifully fragrant heart out. The dictionary calls it "fragrant olive". Hmmm... Maybe it is a fruit-free distant cousin of the olive tree.

In any case, it sends out a sweet perfume, but you shouldn't cut off a branch and stick it in a vase to enjoy indoors. If you touch the blossoms, you'll get a poison-ivy-like rash. Some beauties are best enjoyed from a distance.