Tsukimisou

The birth flower for August 30: Tsukimisou (Evening Primrose, scientific name: Oenothera tetraptera)

Tsukimisou: “Whoever first got the name wrong is to blame.”

The flower known as “Tsukimisou” in Japan
is actually the Matsuyoigusa.
The true Tsukimisou is a day-blooming flower that produces white blossoms,
and is rarely seen in Japan.
It’s such a rare sight that you can only encounter it
in botanical gardens during exhibits that reverse day and night.

On the other hand, the evening primrose blooms with yellow flowers
and fits perfectly into the scenery of Mount Fuji.
It’s a flower steeped in story,
having even appeared in novels under the name “Yoimachigusa.”

The person who first mixed up the names—
their “sin” might be a bit serious.

Both are ephemeral flowers that bloom at night.
Naturally, bees—which only work during the day—don’t visit them,
so moths become their sole companions.

The Tsukimisou starts out white
and fades to a pale pink as it withers.
The Matsuyoi-gusa blooms yellow
and gradually changes from orange to red.

Adorned with the changing colors of the night,
these are two “flowers of the moon.”

Tsukimisou or Oenothera tetraptera(scientific name: Oenothera tetraptera) is native to Mexico and is a perennial of the Onagraceae that blooms white flowers at night. It begins to bloom from the evening and it gets pink and muffled the next morning. The are Evening primrose which makes yellow flower bloom in the same geneus.

Generic name:Tsukimisou or Oenothera tetraptera, S
cientific name: Oenothera tetraptera,
aka: Tsukimisou, evening primrose, Flowering color: white (at flowering) → pink (next morning), flowering period: June to September, flowering time: evening to next morning.