サルスベリの不思議な生態

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　庭のサルスベリが全体的に紅く見えますが、１０月中旬というのに、未だ花が咲いてます。ところが、実は、すでに葉が紅葉も始めてます。ですから、全体的に紅く見えても、花と紅葉が同時に起こっているのです。このような現象は他の植物ではあまり見られず、不思議なことです。

　７月中旬に咲き出し、未だに３ヶ月間も花が咲くのはきっと調子がよいのでしょう。元来、南国の植物なので、殊の他、猛暑であった今夏の気候が幸いしてるとも考えられます。画像の中で特に紅い部分が花で、他の多少薄い紅の部分が紅葉です。サルスベリは百日紅とも書くので、この調子では文字通り１００日間咲く気配です。

　平素の世話は、水遣りと共に害虫取りで小さい赤い蟻です。この蟻は幹の中に巣を作ります。黒い蟻も幹や枝に昇りますが、蜜を吸うだけです。この他の害虫は果物農家に被害をもたらし、近年ニュースで取り上げられてる「カメムシ」(写真右)です。今までいなかったですが、確かに飛来してます。亀のような形をしてます。

　それにしても、紅葉と花が同時に起こるとは、鑑賞する人間にとって有難いです。この状態は丁度、音楽で言う対位法のようであり、二つの旋律が同時に演奏され、それでいて全体的に調和するからです。ピアノ演奏でも、右手と左手が異なる旋律を同時に弾き、しかも、それらが和声的にマッチしてる楽曲です。演奏は難しいですが、挑戦したいです。

Dear my friends abroad who like reading in English

　The simultaneous interpretation for your understanding will be done after my radio gymnastics held in the nearby park and breakfast in Japan time.

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  As you can see in the photo, the crepe myrtle in my garden looks red all over, so it's still in bloom even though it's mid-October. However, the leaves have already started to turn red as well. So, even though it looks red all over, the flowers and the leaves are turning red at the same time. This phenomenon is not seen much in other plants, so it's strange.

　This plant started blooming in mid-July and is still blooming for just three months, so the health must be doing well. It's originally a tropical plant such as the southern China, so it's probably lucky that it's been in such hot weather this summer in Japan. The red parts in the picture are the flowers, and the other parts that are a little lighter red are the leaves. Crepe myrtle is also written as '100-days red, so it'll be blooming for literally 100 days.

　The usual care by me is watering and small red ants to get rid of pests. These ants make nests inside the trunk. Black ants also climb the trunk and branches, but they only suck the nectar. Another pest is the stinkbug, which has been in the news in recent years for causing damage to fruit farmers. I've never seen the stinkbug before, but they have certainly arrived. They are shaped like a turtle.

　Even so, it is a blessing for humans to see the autumn leaves and flowers blooming at the same time. This condition is just like counterpoint in music which two melodies are played simultaneously, yet they are in harmony overall. It is like a piano performance in which the right and left hands play different melodies at the same time, they match harmonically. It is difficult for me to play, but I would like to try it from now on.

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