Flower Photo: White Trumpet Lily -- AKA Easter Lily

A Wildflower in the Ryukyu Islands

 

 

Returning from an uneventful morning, chasing birds, I spotted this lily.

This year, I skipped the Lily Festival on Iejima.

And, Easter passed by, before I realized the holiday had occurred.

Teppouyuri (テッポウユリ) in Japanese

 

 

An American soldier took bulbs from this plant, in Okinawa, to Oregon in 1919.

Soon, they were being produced and sold commercially in North America.

The Easter Lily capital of the world is now on the west coast of the USA.

Over 90% of the potted Easter lilies are started on just 10 farms from California to Oregon.

People in Hawaii, figured out how to save the plants and, grow their own.

The scientific name for this flower is Lilum longiflorum.

If you are a cat person: Caution These Plants Are Poisonous to Cats !

In Australia, they tell you how doctors treat cats who ate these flowers.

In Japan, we just say,  sayonara !

For those who managed to read this far, a bonus:

10 Common Plants You Didn't Know Were Toxic

Japanese readers visit Wildlife Okinawa

2013 Lily Festival on Ie Jima Starts Tomorrow

This Just In: A Million Lilies Blooming !

 

Three days were spent out on Ie Island in Okinawa, checking things out.

We were busy doing other things but, made sure the white lilies were in bloom.

The five photos you see here, were taken this morning.

Weather has been a bit unpredictable but, some blue skies did manage to peek through.

 Sometimes called Easter Lilies, those flowers are native to the Ryukyu Islands.

 They smell real good and will be blooming for about three more weeks.

That means anyone, from anywhere around the globe, could hop on a plane and come see them.

So, if you like nature and flowers, that's exactly what you should do.

What's everybody waiting for ?

Springtime Flowers to Look for in Okinawa, Japan (Photos)

It'll be Spring this time next week so, here are a few flowers I'll be looking forward to seeing.

The first photo, a Golden Trumpet or, Tabebuia caraiba was taken March 5, 2011.

They are a tad late blooming this year but, should be in full bloom shortly.

One of my favorite flowers, the Purple Iris, is the next one to watch.  They can be tricky.

April 2d, last year, I went to shoot photos of the iris fields in a place called Ogimi.

If you go looking for these flowers too early, you might as well just take photos of a green onion field.

Not wanting to waste a day of camera shooting, I was lucky to find some Cosmos.

These flower photos were taken April 2, 2011. 

See, we have Cosmos and an Iris field that looks like green onions.

Another cameraman went to shoot the Iris Fields and didn't want to waste the day.

He got the same bright idea and went shooting Cosmos.

So, I shot him, too.



A week later (March 9, 2011) I went back to Ogimi and found what I was looking for.

The place was full of those bright Purple Iris flowers, blooming in the sun.

That guy in the yellow shirt with a great big zoom lens on his Canon, crawled right into the field for a close up.

So, I shot him, too.

Another, very important flower to look for in Springtime on Okinawa is the world famous

Easter Lily

The above photo was taken April 27, 2011 in the wife's garden.

They have A MILLION LILY FESTIVAL every year April/May time-frame on an island named

IeShima


You just have to keep watching the news to find out exactly when in Springtime everything is ready for your camera if you want to look for flowers in Okinawa, Japan.


I'll do my best to keep you posted but, I ain't so sure about going the the IeShima Lily Festival this year.  Somebody gave me a black eye last time I went there !

Get more info on Okinawa's flowers in TREES, FLOWERS, FERNS