I always see two large Yama-nomo trees planted in the garden of the sports gym I go to. One of the trees is full of ripe Yama-nomo fruits. There are plenty of fallen fruits around its roots, but most of them have been stepped on and crushed. What’s a wast!. However, since it faces the street, you hesitate to pick the fruits from the tree. In the park too, there is also a place where Yama-nomo trees are planted. Several people gather there, pluck the fruits from the trees, put them in bags, or enjoy eating them. The only drawback is that the seeds are large, but the fruits are pleasantly tart and quite delicious. They used to sell them in stores in the past, but these days they are hard to find. Yama-nomo trees have both male and female trees, but even the female trees can bear fruits on their own. This is because the pollen from the male flowers floats in the air and can travel far away. It is even said that they bear fruits through pollen that flew all the way from China.

いつも通っているスポーツジムの庭に二本の大きな山桃の木が植っています。一方の木には山桃の実が鈴なりです。根っこの周りにも沢山の実が落ちていますが、ほとんどの実が踏み潰されています。もったいない話です。といって、通りに面した場所ですから、木に成った実を取るのも憚れます。公園にも山桃の木が植った場所があって、ここでは三々五々人が集まっていて、木から実を捥いで袋に入れたり、口に頬張ったりしています。種が大きいのが難点ですが、甘酸っぱくて結構美味しいんです。昔は店にも売っていましたが、最近はとんと見かけません。山桃の木は雌と雄がありますが、雌だけでも実を付けます。雄の花粉が空中を漂って遙か彼方にまで飛ぶからです。中国から飛んできた花粉で実を結ぶとも言われているくらいです。