The autumn leaves are about to end, and the sasanqua flowers are starting to stand out.  Sasanqua, which begins to bloom from late autumn to early winter when there are few flowers, will continue to bloom until early spring next year.  The language of flowers is “Overcoming difficulties” and “Dedication”.  It may be that the appearance of blooming bravely even in the cold creates such a flower language.  Sasanqua is a species of the Camellia genus of the Camellia family, endemic to Japan, as it is called “Sasanqua” in scientific name and English.  Like Kantsubaki, there are hybrids of sasanqua and camellias, and sasanqua and camellias are closely related species that are difficult to distinguish.  Camellia camellias and sasanqua came to France in the early Meiji period, and then to England, but they did not become popular like camellias.  Compared to the bright image of camellia in spring, the dreary image of sasanqua in early winter seems to have been less popular in Europe.

紅葉もそろそろ終わりを迎え、サザンカの花が目立ち始めました。花の少ない晩秋から 初冬にかけて咲き出す山茶花は来年の春先まで咲き続けます。花言葉は「困難に打ち克つ」「ひたむきさ」。寒さの中でもけなげに咲く姿が、こういった花言葉を生み出しているのかもしれません。学名や英語でも「Sasanqua」と呼ばれる様にサザンカはツバキ科ツバキ属の一種で、日本の固有種です。寒椿の様に、サザンカとツバキの交雑種もあり、サザンカとツバキとは近縁種で見分けれるのが困難な品種もあります。サザンカはツバキの花と時を同じくして、明治初期頃にフランスに渡り、次いでイギリスに渡りましたが、ツバキのように流行しませんでした。春の明るいイメージのツバキに比べ、初冬の寂しげなイメージのサザンカは、ヨーロッパではあまり好まれなかったようです。