Studies of Plants and Wildlife: Ogesawa and Mt. Kagenobu, Takao area (March 26th)

March 26, 2007

Ogesawa and Mt. Kagenobu, Takao area (March 26th)

(photo 1)

(Today's course)
JR Takao Sta. - Ogesawa - missed the trail to Zarikubo - Sekiba pass - Mt. Doudokoro (731 m) - Mt. Kagenobu (727.1 m) - Kobotoke bus stop - JR Takao Sta.

We arrived at the Takao Sta. around 9:30, but today is not holiday, so only one bus runs in every hour to Kobotoke. We decided to walk for a while and turned out to get to the Hikage bus stop before the bus arrived. We found some lovely Erythronium japonicum (Katakuri) at somebody's yard at the entrance of Hikage creek. At the Ogesawa trail many kinds of violets were blooming and we found even bigger patch of Omphalodes japonica (Yama Rurisou) than we remembered. Near the gate at the middle of the trail, we missed the turn to Zarikubo trail up to Mt. Kagenobu and we ended up all the way to Sekiba pass. We had lunch there and headed to Mt. Kagenobu around 14:00. Arrived at the top of Mt. Kagenobu around 15:15 then walked down to Kobotoke bus stop. On the way down we found some Asarum (Kan Aoi) plants and lots of Cymbidium goeringii (Shunran). It seems we found more of them than we had been there before.

The flowers found at...
The Road from Hikage to Ogesawa:
Erythronium japonicum (Katakuri, photo 1),
Euphorbia sieboldiana (Natsu Toudai),
Semiaquilegia adoxoides (Himeuzu),
Arisaema limbatum (Mimigata Tennanshou).

Ogesawa Trail:
Meehania urticifolia (Rashoumon Kazura),
Corydalis pallida var. tenuis (Miyama Kikeman),
Anemone flaccida (Nirinsou, photo 2),
Omphalodes japonica (Yama Rurisou, photo 3),
Chloranthus japonicus (Hitori Shizuka, photo 4),
Scopolia japonica (Hashiri Dokoro),
Chrysosplenium macrostemon var. atrandrum (Yogore Nekonome),
Chrysosplenium album var. stamineum (Hana Nekonome),
Viola hondoensis (Aoi Sumire),
Viola yezoensis f. discolor (Takao Sumire),
Viola tokubuchiana var. takedana (Hina Sumire, photo 5),
Viola eizanensis (Eizan Sumire, photo 6),
Viola grypoceras (Tachitsubo Sumire),
Viola grypoceras f. variegata (Akafu Tachitsubo Sumire, photo 7),
Viola bisseti (Nagaba no Sumire Saishin, photo 8),
Viola keiskei (Maruba Sumire),
Viola japonica (Ko Sumire, photo 9).

Mt. Kagenobu:
Asarum kooyanum var. nipponicum (Kan Aoi, photo 10),
Cymbidium goeringii (Shunran, photo 11 & 12).

Near the Kobotoke Bus Stop:
Euptelea polyandra (Fusazakura).

高尾は小下沢へヤマルリソウを確認に出かけてきました。以前に見たときよりも分布範囲が広がっているようでした。日影のものようにピンク色系のものは見られず、ほとんどは空色、淡い水色系の花をつけていました。スミレ類が多種多様に見られて、エイザンスミレやナガバノスミレサイシンもそれぞれの個体でかなり違った色をしているので、歩いていてとても楽しかったです。途中、ザリクボへ折れるところを見逃して直進してしまったため、関場峠にたどり着いてしまい、予定よりも大幅に遠回りして影信山に到着しました。小仏へ下る途中、かなりの数の、しかもすこぶる健康そうなシュンランを見つけることができました。バス停近くではフサザクラも咲き始めていました。