Tea Blossoms

　As October begins, one can spot tea blossoms near tea fields where the harvest has finished. These white flowers, which resemble camellias in shape, are just under 5 cm in size. As they bloom from October to December, they are considered a seasonal word for early winter in Japan.

　As the plants cannot produce good-quality tea if their nutrients are diverted to the flowers and fruit, they are pruned early in the tea fields. The flowers in this photograph are from a semi-wild tea tree growing beside a tea field.

　The fruit appears one year after the flowers have bloomed and pollination has taken place. Nowadays, tea plants in Japan are almost exclusively propagated by cuttings rather than from seed. The fruit has a strong, bitter taste and is certainly not edible, but the oil extracted from it is used for culinary and cosmetic purposes.