waiting for spring, buds of the oriental paperbush

Cold and strong wind started to blow from late last night, and it was a sharp drop in the temperature this morning. It was very warm yesterday, but today was so cold and more than 10 degree Celsius lower than yesterday. I have come to know again it is still winter now, so buds are still hard and waiting for spring.
This plant is called Mitsumata in Japanese and the scientific name is Edgeworthia chrysantha. As for the English name, it is called Oriental Paperbush. The bark of this plant is used for raw material of Washi (means Japanese paper).


taken by Canon EOS40D with EF 100mm F2.8 macro USM, aperture priority mode, f8, 1/100, ISO400

冷たい強風が昨夜半から吹きはじめ、今朝は急激に気温が下がった。昨日はとても温かかったが、今日は昨日より１０度以上も気温が低かった。まだまだ冬であることを思い知らされた。蕾もまだ固く春を待ってる。
この植物はミツマタと言い、英語ではOriental Paperbushと呼ばれてる。樹皮は和紙の原料として利用される。