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mystery flower revealed
Oct. 26th, 2012 10:37 amIt's Osmanthus fragrans, the gold and silver osmanthus from Usagi Drop! (Kinmokusei and ginmokusei -- lucky for me species names are usually written in katakana, which I can actually read.)
It's hard to find references that both differentiate the varieties and use the terms gold and silver osmanthus, though I got some information from this post about Chinese varieties (scroll to daxin's post, with the photo). Based on all my little bits of evidence, the main difference may be the flower color.
Now, the question is whether my inference from Usagi Drop was valid: that the gold and silver have some kind of value implied, since one is planted for a boy's birth and one for his sister's. On reading Astronerdboy's review above, I think I was probably wrong, and the positive connotation of the golden osmanthus is just because Daikichi and Rin have their commemorative trees in common.
To my nose the white smells more floral, and less strongly, than the orange ones around campus, but these may not be the traditional varieties. The shrubs seem mature, but there are ultra-fragrant and long-blooming cultivars available now. The orange/golden one I initially thought smelled of tropical fruits, but everyone says apricots and now I cannot unsmell that. The color is perfectly apricot, too, so there's a vast conceptual attraction.
Also apparently there is a whole pun-complex about kinmokusei and the Sailor Starlights, of which I knew nothing due to my tragic lack of exposure to Sailor Moon.
It's hard to find references that both differentiate the varieties and use the terms gold and silver osmanthus, though I got some information from this post about Chinese varieties (scroll to daxin's post, with the photo). Based on all my little bits of evidence, the main difference may be the flower color.
Now, the question is whether my inference from Usagi Drop was valid: that the gold and silver have some kind of value implied, since one is planted for a boy's birth and one for his sister's. On reading Astronerdboy's review above, I think I was probably wrong, and the positive connotation of the golden osmanthus is just because Daikichi and Rin have their commemorative trees in common.
To my nose the white smells more floral, and less strongly, than the orange ones around campus, but these may not be the traditional varieties. The shrubs seem mature, but there are ultra-fragrant and long-blooming cultivars available now. The orange/golden one I initially thought smelled of tropical fruits, but everyone says apricots and now I cannot unsmell that. The color is perfectly apricot, too, so there's a vast conceptual attraction.
Also apparently there is a whole pun-complex about kinmokusei and the Sailor Starlights, of which I knew nothing due to my tragic lack of exposure to Sailor Moon.
