Wintersweet (roobai)

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Wintersweet (roobai, Japan)

***** Location: Japan
***** Season: Late Winter
***** Category: Plant

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Explanation

Roobai, lit. "Wax Plum" 蝋梅
Chinese T'ang Plum, karaume 唐梅
Chinese Nanking Plum, Nankin Ume 南京梅

This is a very good smelling waxlike strong flower on a shrub, blooming even if it is snowing outside, a very tough old girl. She grows right next to a red-flowering camellia in my garden, giving even the bleakest winter day some glow of color. Her smell does not transmit via internet, that is too bad.

The Japanese name "Wax Plum" is taken from the flower, which looks like made from bee's wax.

This flower comes from China and has been introduced to Japan during the Edo period. It is a favorite for Bonsai too. The sweet smell and the wax-like flowers during the winter months make it a favorite. Together with the Camellia, Plum and Narcissus it is one of the Four Flowers of Winter of the old Chinese poetry tradition.

During the flowering seaseon, January to February, there are no leaves yet and the flowers sit on every knot, facing downward. A variety with rather large flowers is called Dan Roobai　壇蝋梅. A variety with a specially sweet smell and bright yellow flowers is called True Heart Wintersweet, soshin roobai 素心蝋梅 Chimonanthus praecox form. concolor. This variety is all yellow, even in the inside, where the other varieties show a little purple or red.

Even if the name has the Chinese character for PLUM, this plant does not belong to the plum family.

Gabi Greve

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Chimonanthus praecox - Wintersweet
The Greek name means Winter Flower (cheimon anthos).

A nice painting
http://washimo.web.infoseek.co.jp/illust/roubai.htm


Japanese Links with photos


http://www.hana300.com/roubai1.html
http://www.hana300.com/roubai2.html
http://www.hana300.com/roubai.html

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Worldwide use


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Things found on the way

The Japanese reading of ROOBAI ろうばい, ロウバイ　should not be confused with the
OLD PLUM TREE roobai 老梅.

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HAIKU

蝋梅や　遠くある父の　庭思う



first wax-forsythia -
reminding me of
father's far-away garden

Gabi Greve
Wintersweet, Roobai

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蝋梅や　雪うち透す　枝のたけ
roobai ya yuki uchi sukasu eda no take

Akutagawa Ryuunosuke 芥川龍之介
http://www.wood.co.jp/haiku/s-aku.htm

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Related words

Forsythia (Forsythia suspensa)
kigo for mid-spring

rengyoo, 連翹　れんぎょう
itachigusa いたちぐさ, itachihaze　いたちはぜ

The land of origin is China, but now it is found in gardens all over the world. Its energetic flowers represent the joys of spring very well.

december sunshine -
an early forsythia
streches its head

Gabi Greve, December 2006 Look at the photo !


Click HERE for more photos !

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***** Spring (haru, Japan)

***** Camellia (tsubaki) Sasanka

***** Plum blossom (ume) Japan

***** Narcissus


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