植物や花もジョークと同様に興味があるので英語の植物・花の名前を覚えたいとは思っているのですが憶えては忘れ憶えては忘れの繰り返しです。今日のJapan Timesのメルマガに初めて目にする英語の花の名前がありました。
New Zealand gentian flowers bring new color to Japan
gentian を辞書で調べると日本語名はもちろん知っているリンドウでした。そこで記事を読むと：
SYDNEY (Kyodo) A team of scientists and growers in New Zealand has reinvented one of Japan's favorite flowers in a new range of colors.
The gentian, a flower native to the high alpine regions of Asia, Europe and the Americas, has always held a special place in Japanese homes and hearts. It is often used in flower arrangements and Buddhists traditionally offer gentians at the altars of their ancestors. It is the official flower of Nagano and Kumamoto cities.
Ninety percent of gentians are blue, and, apart from a smattering of white and pale pink, no other colors have been mass-produced.
That is until now.
Hot pink, red, purple and yellow gentians are among the host of new blooms developed by New Zealand grower John Moffatt and scientists at the New Zealand Institute for Crop and Food Research.
という訳で記事はまだ続きますが、確かにリンドウと言えば青系の色の花しか思い浮かびませんが、ピンクや赤、黄色などのリンドウも出てきたのですね。その内に花屋に行って確かめたいな。
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