Kunlunka is a flower that makes us feel romantic just by listening to its name. At the border between the Taklimakan Desert in the Uighur Autonomous Region and the Tibetan Autonomous Region, in the western part of China, there is the Kunlun Mountains, which is 3,000km east-west and has more than 200 mountains over 6,000m high. From ancient times, in China, it has been said that there is “Kunlun Mountain” in the far west, where water containing immortal components flows and the hermit lives. Kunlunka with dark green leaves, pure white calyx and star-studded yellow flowers certainly reminds us of “Kunlun Mountain”.

崑崙花、名前からしてロマンをそそる花です。中国の西域、ウイグル自治区にあるタクラマカン砂漠とチベット自治区との境には、東西3000km、6000mを超える高山が200以上連なる崑崙山脈があります。昔から中国では、遥か西に「崑崙山」があり、そこには不老不死の水が流れ、仙人が住んでいると言い伝えられてきました。濃い緑の葉と真っ白な萼、星を散りばめた様な黄色い花々、崑崙花はまさに「崑崙山」を思い起こさせる花だったのです。