Kira's Relaxation and Training Grounds

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Kira's Flower Info Journal

African Daisy

Common names: African Daisy, African Cape Marigold, Goddess of the Sun

Description: The African daisy flowers are 1-1/2 inch wide flowers, which close at night, in the shade, and during cloud cover. The African daisy flowers are in shades of white, orange and yellow and apricot. Synonyms of African Daisy are: Dimorphotheca integrifolia, Dimorphotheca calendulacea, Dimorphotheca dentata, Dimorphotheca aurantiaca. African Daisies grow to a height of 1 - 1.5ft. African Daisies blooms during April-August. African Daisies start to germinate in 10-30 days.

Info: African Daisies are herbaceous annuals. African Daisies produces a fruit with abundant seeds. The genus name, Dimorphotheca, means two shapes of seed since the plant produces two non�identical seed forms. The African Daisy (Dimorphotheca aurantiaca), also known as the African Cape Marigold, are one of the colorful flowers for a beautiful garden. The African daisy flowering plant is excellent for naturalized areas and as ground cover for large areas, for parking strips, borders, large pots and tubs.

Alstroemeria

Common names: alstroemeria, Peruvian lily, Inca lily, Parrot Lily, Lily of the Incas

Description: The main stems of these cut flowers are 2 to 3 feet long and branch into four to six short pedicels; each holding two to four flower buds. Colors include yellow, apricot, orange, salmon, pink, red, mauve, lavender, purple, cream, white and bi-colors. Alstroemeria typically last one to two weeks.

Info: Alstroemeria flower is symbolic of wealth, prosperity and fortune. It is also the flower of friendship. Alstroemeria flowers bloom during late spring or early summer. It's named after the Swedish botanist Klas von Alstroemer, who was a pupil of the great botanical classifier Linnaeus. The genus Alstroemeria consists of about 50 species and they'll stop producing flowers if they get too hot.

Anthurium

Common names: anthurium, tailflower, Painted Tongue, Flamingo Flower, Flamingo Lily

Description: The red, heart-shaped flower of Anthuriums is really a spathe, or waxy, modified leaf flaring out from the base of a fleshy spike (spadix) where the tiny real flowers grow. The anthurium flowers appear as a roughness on the spadix as compared to a smooth spadix. Most common colors of anthuriums are red and shades of red.

Info: All parts of the anthurium plant, are poisonous. If ingested, may cause mild stomach disorders. The anthurium plant sap can cause skin irritation. The inflorescence of anthuriums are popular as they have a long shelf life. Titan arum (Amorphophallus titanum), the plant with the largest inflorescence in the world, is an unusual plant in the family Araceae, which has the largest inflorescence among flowering plants.

Birds of Paradise

Common names: bird of paradise, Crane Flowers

Description: The popular Birds-of-Paradise plant bears a unique flower that resembles a brightly colored bird in flight, giving it the common name, Bird of Paradise. The Birds-of-Paradise flowers make the plant an exceptionally attractive landscape plant.

Info: Birds of Paradise, also known as Crane flowers are one of the most beautiful Exotic Flowers. Birds of Paradise are native to South Africa. Birds of Paradise bloom from September through May.

Calla Lily

Common names: calla, calla lily, viz., arum lily, trumpet lily, Pig lily

Description: Callas are large flowers with thick, waxy petals and solitary 6- to 8-inch flower heads that make excellent cut flowers and blooming plants. Colors include white, yellow, pink, lavender, rose, orange and green. Vase life is seven to 10 days.

Info: Calla Lilies signify magnificence and beauty. Further combined with the attributes associated with the color you choose Calla lilies can convey a wealth of meaning. Calla Lilies are also very popular for wedding bouquets as they signify magnificence and beauty. Though called a lily, Calla lilies are not really lilies. Blooming time of Calla lilies is late spring and the word Calla comes from the Greek term for 'beautiful'. The Calla lily roots are also poisonous.

Carnation

Common names: Carnation, Dianthus, The Flowers of God

Description: Flowers are 2 to 3 inches wide on 1- to 2-foot stems. Miniature carnation varieties feature several small flowers on one stem. Colors include white, yellow, pink, red, salmon, fuchsia, deep purple, light green, bi-colors and flecked. The fragrant cut flowers live up to three weeks. Carnations are also popular as potted plants because of their long blooming season.

Info: Carnations are also commonly referred to by their scientific name, "Dianthus", the name given by the Greek botanist Theopharastus. Carnations got the name Dianthus from two Greek Words - "dios", referring to the god Zeus, and "anthos", meaning flower. Carnations are thus "The Flowers of God". Another reason why carnations have become popular is because they come in numerous colors and each color of carnation has a different meaning. Some of these meanings are listed below.


Carnations --------------------------What they Mean
Carnations in general -------------- Fascination, Woman's Love
Pink Carnations -------------------- Mother's Love
Light red Carnations --------------- Admiration
Dark red Carnations --------------- Deep Love and Woman's Affection
White Carnations ------------------- Pure Love and Good Luck
Striped Carnations ----------------- Regret, Refusal
Green Carnations------------------- St. Patrick's Day
Purple Carnations ------------------ Capriciousness
Yellow Carnation ------------------- Disappointment, Dejection

Celandine

Common names: lesser celandine, Pilewort or fig buttercup, Celandine, spring messenger

Description: The Celandine flowers have eight glossy, butter-yellow petals, arranged in a rosette form and are seen singly on delicate stalks rising above the leaves. The outer petals are 8-10 and inner petals are paired. And the centre of the flower has tiny flowers, which are very inconspicous. The Celandine flowers bloom in March and April. Celandine Plant grows 2-6 inches in height. Celandine plant is shiny, with lustrous dark green leaves that form a rosette. Celandine leaves are kidney to heart shaped with smooth to coarse toothed edges. Celandine leaves and flowers arise on separate stems. The blossoms close before rain, and even in fine weather do not open before 9 a.m., and by 5 p.m. they are closed for the night.

Info: Celandine is a common name for two species of flowers: They are Greater Celandine, which belongs to poppy family, and Lesser celandine, belonging to Ranunculus family. Celandines are seen as a thick carpet of gold where they are abundant. The Celandine flowers are yellow, turning white as they age, and in shady places the leaves develop bulbils at the base of the stalk.

Cherry Blossom

Common names: Cherry Blossom, sakura

Description: The Cherry Blossom is Japan's unofficial National Flower. Somei Yoshino is a favorite Cherry Blossom variety of the Japanese. The flowers are almost pure white, tinged with the palest pink, especially near the stem.

The Somei Yoshino Cherry Blossoms bloom, and usually fall within a week, before the leaves come out. The trees, thus look nearly white from top to bottom. Other Cherry Blossom varieties include yamazakura, yaezakura, and shidarezakura. The yaezakura Cherry Blossom have large flowers, thick with rich pink petals.

The shidarezakura Cherry Blossom, or weeping Cherry, has branches that fall like those of a weeping willow, bearing cascades of pink flowers.

Info: Cherry Blossom are one of the most beautiful flowers, coming in bright colors. The Cherry Blossom trees in full bloom, during the arrival of spring, is one of the most beautiful sights to behold.

Chrysanthemum

Common names: chrysanthemum, mum

Description: Many flower forms are available. Stems may carry one flower or multiple blooms. There are also spoon-shaped, quill-shaped, threadlike or spider-like florets. Used as both cut flowers and blooming plants, their colors include pink, yellow, red, white, bronze, magenta and purple.

Info: Chrysanthemum comes from Greek 'Chrys' meaning golden (the color of the original flowers), and 'anthemon', meaning flower. This name was given to it by Carolus Linnaeus, a Swedish naturalist also known as the father of modern taxonomy. Chrysanthemums are one of the most popular flowers in the world, next only to the Rose.

The Chrysanthemum flower symbolizes fidelity, optimism, joy and long life.

* A red chrysanthemum conveys love
* A white chrysanthemum symbolizes truth and loyal love
* A yellow chrysanthemum symbolizes slighted love

Daffodil

Common names:

Description: Daffodil flowers have a trumpet-shaped structure set against a star-shaped background. The outer petals are yellow or white; cups may be white, yellow, orange or salmon, and some have an orange edge.

Info: Daffodils, the flowers symbolizing friendship, are one of the most popular flowers exclusively due to their unmatched beauty. Daffodils belong to the genus Narcissus. Daffodils are constantly recurring flowers with at least 50 species and many hybrids. Where climate is moderate, Daffodils flourish among the first spring buds. Daffodils often bloom in clusters.

Forget-me-not

Common names: Forget-me-not

Description: There are approximately fifty species in the genus, with much variation. A considerable number of the species have small (1 cm diameter or less) rather flat, 5-petaled blue flowers growing profusely on straggly stems, flowering in spring. Color variation is somewhat frequent within species, and white or pink forms are common. They are popular in gardens, and cultivated forms often show a mixture of colors. Forget-me-nots prefer shade.

Info: A legend about the origin of the name forget-me-not is as follows. Once a medieval knight and his lady-love were walking beside a river. The knight held a bouquet in his hands. Because of the weight of the armor, he fell into the water. According to the legend, he threw the bouquet at her shouting forget-me-not. There is a Christian religious legend according to which the child Jesus Christ created forget-me-nots so that the generations to come would be able to see him and his mother Mary, on whose lap he was sitting.

Foxglove

Common names: Foxglove

Description: Easily grown from seed, Foxglove is a biennial that puts out a good-sized rosette-shaped clump of foliage the first year and blooms in the second year. Flower colors include white, pink, red, lavender, purple, and yellow. Flower stalks are tall - up to 6 feet with some cultivars, and are covered with small individual flowers with burgundy or brown spots inside that bees, butterflies and hummingbirds find irresistible. In colder regions, Foxgloves can take more sun, but in hot areas, they can be planted in medium to full shade with spectacular results.

Info: A native of woodlands, the foxglove thrives in a damp, partially shaded spot. This stately plant look good grown under tall trees or to give height at the back of the border. This wild plant flowers during summers. This wild plant is biennial. Every part of the Foxglove plant is poisonous, so if you have inquisitive little kids or pets who are inclined to chew, this is not an appropriate plant for the garden, although there are very few reports of animals ingesting it, suggesting that they somehow "know" not to bother it.

Freesia Flowers

Common names: Freesia

Description: Freesia is a genus of about 14 species. Freesia bulbs are usually grown for use asCut Flowers. All the 14 species of Freesia are African in origin. Of The 14 Freesia species, 12 are native to Cape Province, South Africa, the remaining two to tropical Africa, with one these species extending north of the equator to Sudan. Freesia flowers are very fragrant, typically white or yellow, and are borne in spikelike racemes. This blooming beauty captures your heart and is a springtime favorite.

Info: Freesia plants grow from a corm (a solid bulb, as in Gladiolus). The Freesia orm sends up a tuft of long narrow leaves and a slightly branched stem. Freesia Flowers are borne as loose one-sided spikes of narrowly funnel-shaped flowers along a side few leaves. Some excellent Freesia varieties (old-fashioned) for fragrance include: Athene, Allure, Demeter, Excelsior, Golden Wave, Mirabel, Pink Westlind, Snowdon, and Welkin. Freesia perfume has a light, sweet, soap-like floral scent - trendy in soaps, lotions and so forth. Freesia flower bouquets are also used for gifting on special occasions. Freesia flowers are symbolic of innocence. Freesia are very popularly used in the perfume, scented oils and baths and other related industries.

Gerbera

Common names: gerbera, gerbera daisy

Description: Daisy-like blooms grow to 5 inches wide with layers of thin petals. They also grow in many sizes including miniature varieties; single-flowered or double-flowered; and spider varieties. Colors include white, cream, yellow, gold, pink, magenta, salmon, orange, red and bi-colors.

Info: Gerbera is a genus of the family of sunflowers, Daisies and Asters - Asteraceae, with a wide distribution from Africa to Madagascar, tropical Asia and South America. Through hybridization, Gerberas are available in a massive array of colors. The meanings of gerbera flowers stem from those attributed to the general daisy family. These meanings include innocence and purity, and daisies are also a classic symbol of beauty. However, the gerbera variety holds an added meaning of cheerfulness, which stems from the assortment of colors available.

Gladiolus

Common names: gladiolus, glad, gladioli

Description: Tall, tightly packed spikes of six to eight blossoms open in sequence from the bottom. The 2- to 8-inch-wide florets bloom in one direction with sword shaped foliage on stems. Gladiolus lend itself to almost any type of style from the use of a full stem to provide height to a tall arrangement or individual florets for corsage and wedding work. Gladiolus last seven to 10 days and are available in a wide variety of colors including white, green, cream, yellow, buff, orange, salmon, pink, red, lavender, purple, blue and terra cotta.

Info: The Gladiolus flower signifies remembrance. It also expresses infatuation, telling the receiver that he or she pierces the heart. It also stands for strength of character, faithfulness and honor. An ancient name for the gladiolus was xiphium, from the Greek word xiphos, also meaning sword. The Gladiolus flower is also the birth flower for August. Some parts of Gladiolus plant are poisonous, if ingested, and handling some species may cause skin irritation or allergic reactions.

Gypsophila

Common names: gypsophila, gyp, baby's breath

Description: Clusters of tiny, double flowers bloom on branching stems 3 to 4 feet tall. White is the most commonly used color; however, it is also available in pale pink, Gypsophila lives up to a week and dries well. Gypsophilia plants grow 1 to 2 feet, bearing a profusion of white or pink flowers. The stems separate into many branches, giving it a light appearance, perfect for accenting bouquets. Gypsophila lasts long up to a week and dries well. Baby's Breath is very much suitable for borders combined with other perennials.

Info: Gypsophilia, popularly known as Baby's Breath, is a bushy plant with branching habit bearing dainty small flowers on long slender stems. It is native to Central and Eastern Europe. Baby's Breath is a tender and delicate annual. Gypsophilia is a popular flower to accent bouquets, corsages and flower vases, especially as dried flower., besides being a popular flower in the home garden as well.

Heather

Common names: heather, calluna, Scotch heather

Description: These evergreen shrubs consist of tight stems covered with tiny leaves. They have 6- to 10-inch flower spikes and come in purple, lavender, pink and white. Heather is a flowering plant or cut flower. In Heather flowers, the corolla is showy in true heaths, and in the Erica genus, heathers have showy pink or, rarely, white sepals that overlap the corolla. There are two types of Winter Heather plants. The lower, winter spreading types are grown as ground covers, in rockeries, containers or for spot color in flower and shrub beds. While the upright winter varieties are best suited for borders, spot color, massing or as container plants. The flowers of both types are ideal for small winter arrangements.

Info: Heather (Calluna vulgaris) Scotch Heather/Ling Heather, is an evergreen branching shrub. Heather flowers bloom in late summer. Wild species of Heather flowers are usually in purple or mauve shades.The flower's variuos cultivars come in colors ranging from white, through pink, a wide range of purples, and reds. Different varieties of Heather Flowers bloom from late July to November in the northern hemisphere. The flowers may turn brown but still remain on the plants over winter, and this can lead to interesting effects. Heather flowers are a traditional remedy in Swedish herbal medicine. The Heather plant is sometimes also referred to as Ling derived either from the old Norse Lyng or from the Anglo Saxon Lig meaning fire and referring to use as a fuel. Heather flower also comes in beautiful and varied colors of copper, pink, gold, silvery gray and almost infinite shades of green. There are a number of reasons why heathers are so abundant with such a wide distribution. Firstly, the plant's reproductive capacity is high with seeds produced in very large numbers. Heather forms dense stands that shade and out-compete low-growing vegetation, making it an unsuitable environment for native flora and fauna.

Hydrangea

Common names: hydrangea, hortensia

Description: Hydrangeas produce flowers from early spring to late autumn. The flowers of Hydrangea are carried in bunches, at the ends of the stems. Each individual Hydrangea flower is relatively small. However, the display of color is enhanced by a ring of modified bracts around each flower. Four-petaled flowers grow in round clusters that are usually 4 to 8 inches wide. Flowers bloom in white, lavender and pink. While the hydrangea has been a favorite in the garden or landscape for years, it has become a popular cut flower to enhance garden-style arrangements.

Info: Hydrangea Day is celebrated on the 5th of January every year. Hydrangeas are one of the most beautiful flowers. Inflorescence in the genus Hydrangea comes in groups. Hydrangea has long been a popular flowering shrub. The flowers are considered by many as Grandmother's old-time flower. Hydrangeas are one of very few plants that accumulate aluminium. Aluminium is released from acidic soils, and forms complexes in the hydrangea flower giving them their blue color. Hydrangeas produce their main flower clusters from the tips of shoots formed from the previous season. If the terminal buds of these shoots are destroyed, the plant usually fails to bloom. The chief causes of destruction of the terminal buds are excessive winter cold and uninformed pruning. Hydrangeas are also widely used as dried flowers, especially the blue Hydrangeas.

Iris

Common names: iris, netted iris, Dutch iris

Description: Flowers open to 1 to 3 inches across. Long, thin, pointed leaves grow from the base of the stem. Colors include bluish-purple, deep purple, lavender, white and yellow. Many have yellow markings on the lower part of the petals. Vase life is two to five days.

Info: Since Iris is the Greek goddess for the Messenger of Love, her sacred flower is considered the symbol of communication and messages. Therefore the flower iris in the language of flowers symbolizes eloquence. Based on their color, iris conveys varied messages. Purple iris is symbolic of wisdom and compliments. Blue iris symbolizes faith and hope. Yellow iris symbolizes passion while white iris symbolizes purity. A gift of iris can be used to convey many emotions.

Jasmine

Common names: Jasmine

Description: Jasmine shrubs reache to a height of 10-15 feet, growing approximately 12-24 inches per year. Jasmine leaves are either evergreen or deciduous. A Jasmine leaf is arranged in opposite in most species, leaf shape is simple, trifoliate or pinnate with 5-9 leaflets, each up to two and half inches long. The Jasmine stems are slender, trailing, green, glaborous, angled, almost 4-sided. Most of the Jasmine species bear white flowers, which are about 1 inch in size. True Jasmine has oval, shiny leaves and tubular, waxy-white flowers. The false Jasmine, on the other hand, is in a completely different genus, Gelsemium, and family, Loganiaceae, is considered too poisonous for human consumption.

Info: Jasmine is a very popular flower around the world, especially in tropics because of its unique fragrance. The Jasmine is native to tropical and warm temperate regions of the old world. Jasmine flower and the essential oil extracted from the flower are being used extensively in cosmetics and perfumery, and as a calmative (relaxing properties, sedative) and aphrodisiac (intensifies sexual desire). Flowering in Jasmines takes place in summer or spring, usually six months after planting. The Jasmine flower releases its fragrance at night after the sun has set and especially when the moon is waxing towards fullness. Jasmine flower buds are more fragrant than the flowers. There exists a true Jasmine and a false Jasmine, and the two are commonly mistaken for each other because of the fragrance the plants release. The true Jasmine belongs to the family Oleaceae, is primarily a bushy shrub or climbing vine, and is non-poisonous.

Lily

Common names: lily, Asiatic lily, Oriental lily

Description: Trumpet-shaped flowers grow to a 6-inch diameter. Stems grow to 3 feet long, carrying four to eight blossoms. Sparse foliage is dark green. Because blooms open at various times, most lilies live one to two weeks. Colors include white, yellow, pink, red and orange; many have a deeper color (freckles) on the inner petal.

Info: Lilies of different kinds are commonly found all across the globe. Lilies come in different shapes, sizes and colors. Lilies are really excellent plants for beds and borders. Lilies are suitable for use in a shrub border, as accent plants, a formal or naturalized pool planting. Even some of the small species would fit perfectly in an alpine rock garden. Due to its regal beauty and the variety in color and type that can symbolize a variety of meanings, Lilies are also popular flowers for gifting purposes. Among the flower bouquets of lilies, stargazer and cassablanca lily bouquets are the most sought after floral bouquets. Besides bouquets, lily bulbs as well as potted lily plants are also popular gifts. The Lily flower symbolizes purity and refined beauty. Based on the color or type, the Lily flower can convey different meanings.

Colour/Type of Lily Symbolic Meaning
White lily ---------------- modesty and virginity
orange lily -------------- passion
yellow lily --------------- gaiety
Lily of the valley ------- sweetness and purity of heart
Easter lily --------------- symbol of Virgin Mary

Lily of the Valley

Common names: Lily of the Valley, May Lily, Convallaria, Our Lady's Tears, Convall-lily, Lily Constancy, Ladder-to-Heaven, Jacob's Ladder, Male Lily

Description: The Lily of the Valley has broad, spear-like foliage and fragrant little white bell-shaped flowers. While it’s a popular garden perennial, the Lily of the Valley has seen increasing popularity as a cut flower, especially in wedding bouquets.

Info: In the Victorian classic, The Language of Flowers, the Lily of the Valley is said to symbolize the return of happiness. Though lily of the valley bears dozens of blossoms, it can only last for less than a week. With bell-shaped flowers that infuse the air with fragrance throughout the day, it is the perfect addition to your bedside table or bathroom counter.

Lisianthus

Common names: lisianthus, eustoma

Description: These long-lasting flowers have four wide ruffled, delicate petals and oval leaves. Colors include white, light and dark pink, lavender, deep purple, and bicolors. Double- and single-flower varieties exist. Vase life is seven to 10 days. Lisianthus are large gentian-like bell-shaped flowers with flaring pale purple petal-like lobes. Lisianthus bloom in summer from the upper leaf axils. Lisianthus are long-lasting flowers with four wide ruffled, delicate petals and oval leaves. Colors of Lisianthus include white, various shades of pink, lavender, deep purple, and bicolors such as blue-violet. Double- and single Lisianthus flower varieties exist.

Info: Lisianthus plants are herbaceous annuals, growing to 15 - 60 cms in height. Lisianthus plants have bluish green, slightly succulent leaves, and large funnel shaped flowers growing on long straight stems. Lisianthus are mostly found growing in grasslands and areas of disturbed ground.

Orchid

Common names: orchid, cymbidium, dendrobium, oncidium, cattleya, phalaenopsis

Description: Throughout the world, more than 17,000 species are known, and varieties vary in size and shape.

* Oncidium blossoms are 1 1/2 to 1 inch and are usually yellow with orange-red markings.
* Cymbidium and dendrobium flowers have a butterfly-like shape and are 3 to 4 inches acress. The larger of the two, cymbidiums are white, yellow, green or lavender with pink or red lips, while dendrobiums are often white or lavender.
* Cattleya blossoms are large, ruffled and usually 5 to 6 inches across in white or purple with contrasting throats.
* Phalaenopsis have moth- or butterfly-shaped flowers in colors such as white, pink, purple and bicolors.


Info: No flowering plant has captured the attention of humans, or stirred their passions, in quite the way that Orchids have. In the past, Orchids have been hunted and collected in almost every part of the world. Today, millions of people remain devoted to the plant and its exotically beautiful "faces." The human fascination with these strangely compelling flowers is often refered to as Obsession with Orchids.

Rose

Common names: tea rose, sweetheart rose, spray rose

Description: With almost 120 varieties available, roses are a classic favorite. Roses span the color spectrum with varieties available in all shades of reds, pinks, purples, oranges, corals, peaches and whites.

Tea roses open 3 to 4 inches. Stems can be 12 — 30 inches. Spray roses can have several flowers on one stem.

Depending on the variety, roses typically last 4 — 7 days.

Info: Roses for the longest time have enjoyed the honor of being the most popular flowers in the world. The reason for popularity of the rose flower may be its wide variety in terms of color, size, fragrance and other attributes. The rose has been a symbol of love, beauty, even war and politics from way back in time. The variety, color and even number of Roses carry symbolic meanings. The Rose is most popularly known as the flower of love, particularly Red Rose. While no Black Rose yet exists, there are some of such a deep Red color as to suggest Black.

Snapdragon

Common names: Snapdragon

Description: These tall-spike stems usually have fully opened florets upon arrival with the buds on the upper portion showing a hint of color. Colors include pink, purple, lavender, white, yellow, orange and burgundy. Snapdragons are available year-round and will last five to 10 days.

Info: Snapdragon symbolizes graciousness and strength. Its negative connotations include deception and presumption.

Snowdrop

Common names: Snowdrops, milk-white flowers

Description: There are 75 different species and varieties of Snowdrops. They are all white. This is probably why only two species are commonly cultivated. The first is Galanthus nivalis, usually known as the Garden Snowdrop. A Snowdrop plant looks like three drops of milk hanging from a stem. This accounts for the Latin name Galanthus which means milk-white flowers.

Info: Snowdrops are the early spring flowering bulbs. Two or three straplike leaves, dark green in color, grow from each bulb. The white flowers are usually borne singly, mostly in early spring but sometimes in mid to late winter, which makes them the earliest flowering bulb. The three inner petals have green tips and overlap the outer petals to form a tube. As the snow in their name suggests, Snowdrops may not even wait for the snow to melt before emerging from their winter sleep, instead pushing right up through the snow a delightful sight for the winter-weary.

Statice

Common names: statice, limonium, English statice, German statice, seafoam statice, latifolia

Description: These cut flowers are available in several varieties.

* English statice carries 1- to 2-inch clusters of calyxes, each about 1/2 inch across. Stems are 1 to 1 1/2 feet long.
* Sea-foam statices have smaller calyxes, arched clusters, smooth stems and no foliage.
* German statices have small gray bracts that arch backward.
* English statice calyxes are yellow, white, purple, lavender or pink with tiny white or yellow flowers inside.
* Latifolia calyxes are white with blue-violet flowers.

Info: Statice Flowers come in white, lavender, and pink colors. The tiny funnel-shaped Statice flowers have a delicate, airy, hazy appearance, almost like smoke. Statice bloom in spring and summer. Some species of Statice have an offensive odor. English Statice comes in 1- to 2-inch clusters of Calyxes, each about 1 inch across. Stems are 1 to 1 feet long. Seafoam Statices have smaller calyxes, arched clusters, smooth stems and no foliage. The German Statices' small gray bracts arch backward, while the English Statice feature calyxes that are yellow, white, purple, lavender or pink with tiny white or yellow flowers inside. Latifolia Calyxes are white with blue-violet flowers. Statie Flowers can be spray dried with a fixative. Sea Lavender does not like wet feet while dormant, and is not ethylene sensitive.

Stock

Common names: stock

Description: Stocks have single or double flowers with a 1-inch diameter and a pleasing clove-like scent. The romantic beauty of this flower brings texture to garden designs, and its sweet, spicy fragrance is an added attraction.

Colors range from white, cream, yellow, peach, lavender, pink, purple and burgundy.

Vase life is five to eight days.

Info: Stock symbolizes lasting beauty and happy life. It is indicative of bonds of affection and is symbolic of promptness.

Sunflower

Common names: Sunflower

Description: These large field-grown flowers have 2- to 8-inch diameters. Short petals surround a large disc. Petal colors are pale or golden yellow, orange, red or bronze; discs are brown, black, or green. Thick stems support single- and double-flower varieties.

Info: The large, solitary Sunflower blossom, sometimes as large as a meter in diameter, is composed of yellow ray flowers and a central disk.n The Central disk is composed of either yellow, brown, or purple flowers, depending on the species. The flower is actually a head (formerly composite flower) of numerous flowers crowded together. The outer flowers on the Sunflower are the ray florets and can be yellow, maroon, orange, or other colors. These flowers are sterile. The flowers that fill the circular head inside the ray flowers are called disc florets.

Sunflower plants are cultivated in Sunflower farms for their seeds. Refined Sunflower-seed oil is edible, sunflowers have 39 to 49% oil in the seed. Sunflower seed accounts for about 14% of the world production of seed oils (6.9 million metric tons in 1985-86) and about 7% of the oilcake and meal produced from oilseeds. Sunflower oil is generally considered a premium oil because of its light color, high level of unsaturated fatty acids and lack of linolenic acid, bland flavor and high smoke points. Sunflower is the preferred and the most commonly used oil.

Tulip

Common names: tulip

Description: Single flowers have six petals. Flower variations include lily-flowering types, double flowers, fringed petals and ruffly parrot varieties. Colors include white, yellow, pink, peach, orange, red, lavender, purple and bi-colors. Vase life is up to seven days.

Info: Tulips are one of the most popular-spring flowers of all time, and the third most popular flowers world-wide next only to the Rose and Chrysanthemum. Tulips come in an incredible variety of colors, heights, and flower shapes. Some Tulips are even fragrant. There are now over 3,000 different registered varieties of cultivated Tulips. Tulips symbolize imagination, dreaminess, perfect lover, and a declaration of love.

Wall Flower

Common names: Wall Flower

Description: Wall flowers are small 2-2 inch flowers. Wall flowers are clustered flowerheads of small simple flowers. Wall flowers are fragrant flowers of all colors especially yellow and orange. Each wall flower consists of 4 petals, and 4 sepals. Petals are arranged like X or H. There are 6 stamens in the flower, 4 tall and 2 short. The Pistil is at the center of the flower. Wallflowers plants have vertical, branching stems, 1/2 to 3 feet high.

Info: Wallflowers have two-year life cycle. Wallflowers grow only leaves in the first season from seed. Then in second season, blooms, seeds and dies with first frost. Butterflies are very fond of these wildflowers. Wallflowers bear spikes of beautiful and often fragrant flowers in the spring. Wall flowers grow in warmer places, and grows as a perennial, returning year after year. Though Wall flowers are perennials, they are often treated as biennials.


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[xxBlackCherryBlossomxx]

Info of Legends (for Kira's Black Book)

Abura-akago

Description: an infant ghost who licks the oil out of andon lamps.

Info: Abura-akago ("oil baby") is an infant spirit lapping oil out of an andon lamp. In the eighth town of Ōtsu in Ōmi ("Afumi") Province there exists a flying ball-like fire. The natives say that long ago in the village of Shiga there was a person who stole oil, and every night he stole the oil from the j**ō of the Ōtsu crossroads, but when this person died his soul became a flame and even now they grow accustomed to this errant fire. If it is so then the baby which licks the oil is this person's rebirth.

Akaname

Description: the spirit who licks the bathroom.

Info: The akaname ("filth licker") is a monster likely based on a creature called aka-neburi. The akaname is often described as a being which appears in untidy bathrooms to lick up the grime and dirt.

Akashita

Description: a creature that looms in a black cloud over a floodgate.

Info: An Akashita ("red tongue") is a yōkai. It is drawn as a beast with clawed hands and a hairy face, with most of its body hidden in a black cloud over a floodgate. In its open mouth is a large tongue. It is not certain whether it's intended as an original creation, but it may be related to the shakuzetsujin which guards the western gate of Jupiter. It may also be related to the shakuzetsunichi, a day of bad luck in Onmyōdō.

Amanojaku

Description: a small demon that instigates people into wickedness.

Info: Amanojaku, or Amanjaku ("heavenly evil spirit") is a demon-like creature. It is usually depicted as a kind of small oni, and is thought to be able to provoke a person's darkest desires and thus instigate him into perpetrating wicked deeds. One of the amanojaku's best known appearances is in the fairytale 'Urikohime', in which a girl miraculously born from a melon is doted upon by an elderly couple. They shelter her from the outside world, and she naively lets the amanojaku inside one day, where it kidnaps or devours her, and sometimes impersonates her by wearing her flayed skin.

Amanozako

Description: a monstrous goddess mentioned in the Kujiki.

Info: Amanozako ("heaven opposing everything" or "tengu deity") is a monstrous goddess mentioned in the Kujiki, an ancient Japanese text, which states that she originated when Susanoo let his own ferocious spirit build up inside him until he vomited her out. The Wakan Sansai Zue describes this deity as having a furious temper, a beastly head with a long nose, long ears, and great fangs so strong they can chew metal blades ragged, and to be capable of flying for a thousand ri.

Amazake-babaa

Description: an old woman who asks for sweet sake and brings disease.

Info: Amazake-babaa ("amazake hag") is an old woman yōkai from the folklore of Miyagi and Aomori prefectures. She comes to the doors of houses at late night asking for amazake in a child like voice, but if anyone answers they fall ill. It was said that to keep her away, a cedar leaf is placed in the doorway. She was also known as the goddess of Chickenpox.

Amefurikozō

Description: a little boy spirit who plays in the rain.

Info: Amefurikozō ("rainfall kid") is a weather spirit. It appears as a strange child carrying a paper lantern and wearing a hat made from the husk of an old umbrella. According to Sekien, it is in service of U-shi, a Chinese god of precipitation, and thus has the power to make the rain fall.

Aoandon

Description: the spirit of the blue paper lantern.

Info: Aoandon, or Aoandō ("blue andon") is a creature. It was meant to represent the spirit that appeared during Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai meetings, after the last story was told. The candles in the room during these meetings were often placed in blue-paper andon lamps in order to create an eerie atmosphere, hence this creature's name. It appears as a human with a blue complexion and twin horns from its brow, and sharp teeth.

Bakeneko

Description: a shapeshifting cat.

Info: A bakeneko ("ghost-cat able to appear in disguise") is, in Japanese folklore, a cat with supernatural abilities akin to those of the fox or raccoon dog. A cat may become a bakeneko in a number of ways: it may reach a certain age, be kept for a certain number of years, grow to a certain size, or be allowed to keep a long tail. In the last case, the tail forks in two and the bakeneko is then called a nekomata ("forked cat"). This superstition may have some connection to the breeding of the Japanese Bobtail.

Description: an auspicious beast who can devour nightmares.

Info: Baku are Japanese supernatural beings that devour dreams and nightmares. The traditional Japanese nightmare-devouring baku originates in Chinese folklore and was familiar in Japan as early as the Muromachi period (14th-15th century). An early 17th century Japanese manuscript, the Sankai Ibutsu, describes the baku as a Chinese mythical chimera with an elephant’s trunk, rhinoceros eyes, an ox tail, and tiger paws, which in belief protected against pestilence and evil, although eating nightmares was not included among its abilities.

Funayūrei

Description: ghosts of people dead at sea.

Info: Funayūrei ("marine spirit") are spirits found in Japanese mythology. They are the ghosts of people who have perished at sea. They approach people on boats and ask to borrow a Hishaku, a utensil for scooping up water. If they are given a ladle, they will pour sea water into the boat until it sinks.

Futakuchi-onna

Description: the two-mouthed woman.

Info: A futakuchi-onna ("two-mouthed woman") is a type of yōkai or Japanese monster. They are characterized by their two mouths – a normal one located on her face and second one on the back of the head beneath the hair. There, the woman's skull splits apart, forming lips, teeth and a tongue, creating an entirely functional second mouth.

Though there are several stories linking the appearance of a futakuni-onna's second mouth to different causes, it is most often linked to how little a woman eats. The soon-to-be futakuchi-onna is usually a wife of a miser and rarely eats. To counteract this, a second mouth mysteriously appears on the back of the woman's head. The second mouth often mumbles spiteful and threatening things to the woman and demands food. If it is not fed, it can screech obscenely and cause the woman tremendous pain. Eventually the woman's hair begins to move like a pair of serpents, allowing the mouth to help itself to the woman's meals.

Gashadokuro

Description: a giant skeleton, the spirit of the unburied dead.

Info: In Japanese folklore, Gashadokuro are giant skeletons, often fifteen times taller than an average person. If a gashadokuro sees a human, it will grab it and bite its head off if it does not flee quickly. Gashadokuro are created from gathering bones from people who have died of starvation. The only way a gashadokuro can be detected before it appears is by hearing a ringing in one's ears.

Description:

Info:

Heikegani

Description: crabs with human-faced shells, the spirits of the warriors killed in the Battle of Dan-no-ura.

Info: Heikegani is a species of crab native to Japan, with a shell that bears a pattern resembling a human face. It is locally believed that these crabs are reincarnations of the spirits of the Heike warriors defeated at the Battle of Dan-no-ura as told in The Tale of the Heike. The pattern of ridges on the carapace serves a very functional purpose as sites of muscle attachment. Similar patterns are found on species in many parts of the world, including fossilized remains.

Hitodama

Description: a fireball-ghost that appears when someone dies.

Info: Hitodama ("human soul") are believed in Japanese folklore to be the souls of the newly dead taking form as mysterious fiery apparitions. The word hitodama is a combination of the Japanese words hito, meaning "human", and tama (short for tamashii), meaning "soul". These flames supposedly appear as pale blue or sometimes green spheres with long tails, and they are believed to be tricksters originating from fluorescent gases that can sometimes be seen above human graves. Hitodama are usually said to be found near graveyards and in gloomy forests in summer time, where they are said to live. They are allegedly sometimes seen close to a dying person as an apparition of the soul leaving the body before going to the other side. Most hitodama fade away or fall to the ground shortly after being spotted.

Among tricks they are believed to play on people is leading travelers off track, causing them to become lost. Some Japanese myths consider hitodama a trick of the kitsune, employing their "fox-fire" (kitsune-bi) to lead travelers astray.

Hitotsume-kozō

Description: a one-eyed boy.

Info: Hitotsume-kozō ("one-eyed boys") are monsters found in Japanese folklore. They are roughly the size of ten-year-old children, but otherwise resemble bald Buddhist priests. Their most distinctive feature, however, is a single, giant eye peering from the center of the face, along with a long tongue, much like a Tsukomogami monster.

Hitotsume-kozō are relatively harmless creatures, content to run about frightening human beings or telling loud people to be quiet (they enjoy silence). However, many people consider an encounter with a one-eyed goblin to be a bad omen. For this reason, the superstitious often leave bamboo baskets in front of their houses, as these are reputed to repel the creatures. A reason for this may be that, in seeing the basket's many holes, the hitotsume-kozō will see the basket as having many eyes, and run away jealous and ashamed at only having one.

Hone-onna

Description: a skeleton woman.

Info: Hone-onna (iterally: skeleton woman) is a yōkai of Japanese folklore. Like her name suggests, her true form is that of a skeletal woman. In the guise of a beautiful woman, she lures unwitting men while she sucks the life force of her targets dry.

Hyakki Yakō

Description: the demons' night parade.

Info: Hyakki Yakō ("Night Parade of One Hundred Demons") was a Japanese folk belief. The belief holds that every year yōkai, the Japanese supernatural beings, will take to the streets during summer nights. Anyone who comes across the procession will die, unless protected by some Buddhist sutra.

Ikiryō

Description: essentially a living ghost, as it is a living person's soul outside of their body.

Info: n Japanese mythology, an ikiryō is a manifestation of the soul of a living person separately from their body. [citation needed]

Traditionally, if someone holds a sufficient grudge against another person, it is believed that a part or the whole of their soul can temporarily leave their body and appear before the target of their hate in order to curse or otherwise harm them.

Souls are also believed to leave a living body when the body is extremely sick or comatose; such ikiryō are not malevolent.

Inugami

Description: a dog-spirit created, worshipped and employed by a family via sorcery.

Info: In Japanese mythology an inugami ("dog god") is a type of shikigami, similar to a familiar spirit, resembling, and usually originating from, a dog, and most commonly carrying out vengeance or acting as guardians on behalf of the inugami-mochi, or "inugami owner". Inugami are extremely powerful and capable of existing independently, as well as turning on their "owners" and even possessing humans.

Isonade

Description:

Info: Isonade is an enormous, shark-like sea monster said to live off the coast of Matsuura and other places in Western Japan. When it appears, fierce winds blow. Its body has never been seen, as it is always hidden beneath the waves, save for its huge tail fin which is covered in small barbs. It approaches boats stealthily and uses its hooked tail to snare sailors and drag them into the sea, where it devours them. It may also simply use its tail to capsize boats, or strike the beach with its tail and kill people there.

Jinmenju

Description: a tree with human-faced fruits.

Info: Jinmenju or Ninmenju (human-face tree?) is a strange tree illustrated in Toriyama Sekien's Konjaku Hyakki Shūi. It grows in remote mountain valleys in China. The jinmenju's fruit appear to be human heads. The faces are always smiling or laughing, even as they fall from their branch.

Jorōgumo

Description: a spider woman.

Info: Jorōgumo is a type of Yōkai, a creature of Japanese folklore. According to stories, a Jorōgumo is a spider that can change its appearance into that of a seductive woman. In the Edo period, a beautiful woman enticed a man into a quiet shack and began to play a Biwa. While the man was distracted by the sound of the instrument, she bound him in silk spider threads and ate him.

According to legend, when a spider turns 400 years old, she gains magical powers. She is said to be very beautiful, attractive to everyone who sees her. Stories of Jorōgumo can be found in Edo period books such as "Taihei-Hyakumonogatari" and "Tonoigusa", and others. In these stories, Jorōgumo changes its appearance into a beautiful woman and asks a samurai to marry her or takes the form of a young woman carrying a baby[1].

Kamaitachi

Description: the slashing sickle-weasel that haunts the mountains.

Info: Kamaitachi is a Japanese yōkai, most common in the Kōshinetsu region.

There are several conceptions of how it looked or operated, but the most common is one of a trio of weasels with sharp claws, riding on a gust of wind and cutting peoples' skin on the legs. According to this interpretation, the first weasel knocked the unsuspecting victim down, the second cut the victim's flesh and the third applied medication to the wounds, so that at the time the victim realised what was happening they were left only with painful wounds that weren't bleeding. Sometimes the three are described as brothers, sometimes as triplets. This account can be traced back to Toriyama Sekien, who was presumably also the first to imagine the apparition to have the form of a weasel. The weasel was a typical Toriyama pun - one of the folk names for the apparition was kamaetachi, meaning "attacking" which he changed slightly to mean "sickle weasel".

Kappa

Description: a famous water monster with a water-filled head and a love of cucumbers.

Info: Kappa ("river-child"), alternately called Kawatarō ("river-boy") or Kawako ("river-child"), are legendary creatures, a type of water sprite found in Japanese folklore. In Shintō they are considered to be one of many suijin. A hair-covered variation of a Kappa is called a Hyōsube.

Kappa supposedly inhabit the ponds and rivers of Japan and have various features to aid them in this environment, such as webbed hands and feet. They are sometimes even said to smell like fish, and they can certainly swim like them. The expression kappa-no-kawa-nagare ("a kappa drowning in a river") conveys the idea that even experts make mistakes.

Keneō

Description: an old man seated in the underworld who weighs the clothes given to him by Datsue-ba.

Info: Keneō is an old man who sits at the edge of the Sanzu River in the Buddhist underworld. When a soul of an adult arrives at the river, Datsue-ba forces the sinners to take off their clothes, and Keneō hangs these clothes on a riverside branch that bends to reflect the gravity of the sins. Various levels of punishment are then performed by the pair. For those who steal, for example, Datsue-ba breaks their fingers, and together with Keneō, she ties the head of the sinner to the sinner's feet.

Keukegen

Description: a creature made of hair.

Info: Keukegen ("fluffy hair appearance") is a creature illustrated in Toriyama Sekien's Konjaku Hyakki Shūi. It resembles a small dog covered entirely in long hair. Its name is a pun - when written with different kanji, keukegen means "an unusual thing which is rarely seen".

According to one report, the keukegen is a disease spirit which lives in damp, dark places and causes people in the house to get sick.

Kitsune

Description: a supernatural fox.

Info: Kitsune is the Japanese word for fox. Foxes are a common subject of Japanese folklore; kitsune usually refers to them in this context. Stories depict them as intelligent beings and as possessing magical abilities that increase with their age and wisdom. Foremost among these is the ability to assume human form. While some folktales speak of kitsune employing this ability to trick others—as foxes in folklore often do—other stories portray them as faithful guardians, friends, lovers, and wives.

Foxes and human beings lived in close proximity in ancient Japan; this companionship gave rise to legends about the creatures. Kitsune have become closely associated with Inari, a Shinto kami or spirit, and serve as his messengers. This role has reinforced the fox's supernatural significance. The more tails a kitsune has—they may have as many as nine—the older, wiser, and more powerful it is. Because of their potential power and influence, some people make offerings to them as to a deity.

Kiyohime

Description: a woman who transformed into a serpent-demon out of the rage of unrequited love.

Info: According to Japanese folklore,Kiyohime was the daughter of a village headman or landlord named Shōji, on the Hidaka riverbank. The family was wealthy enough to entertain and provide lodging for traveling priests, who often passed by on their way to a shrine famous for ascetic practices.

One day, a handsome visiting priest named Anjin fell in love with a beautiful woman named Kiyohime, but after a time he overcame his passions and refrained from further meetings. Kiyo became furious at the sudden change of heart and pursued him in rage. The priest and Kiyohime met at the edge of the Hidaka river, where the priest asked a boatman to help him to cross the river, but told him not to let her cross with his boat. When Kiyo saw that Anjin was escaping her, she jumped into the river and started to swim after him. While swimming in the torrent of the Hidaka river, she transformed into a large serpent because of her rage. When Anjin saw her coming after him in the form of a huge serpent, he ran into the temple called Dōjōji. He asked the priests of Dōjōji for help and they hid him under the bell of temple. However, the serpent smelled him hiding inside the bell and started to coil around it. It banged the bell loudly several times with its tail, then gave a great belch of fire that melted the bell, killing the priest.


((will count later, too tired right now))  

[xxBlackCherryBlossomxx]

Info of Legends (for Kira's Black Book) Part 2

Kodama

Description: a spirit that lives in a tree.

Info: A kodama is a spirit from Japanese folklore, which is believed to live in certain trees. Cutting down a tree which houses a kodama is thought to bring misfortune, and such trees are often marked with shimenawa rope.

Kuchisake-onna

Description: the slit-mouthed woman.

Info: Kuchisake-onna ("Slit-Mouth Woman") refers to both a story in Japanese mythology, as well as a modern version of the tale of a woman, mutilated by a jealous husband, and returned as a malicious spirit bent on committing the same acts done to her.

Kuda-gitsune

Description: a small fox-like animal used in sorcery.

Info: Kuda-gitsune or Kanko ("pipe fox"?) is a creature supposedly employed by Japanese kitsune-tsukai, those who use foxes as spirit familiars. Its use is described in various books, as follows:

In the Sōzan Chomon Kishū the kuda-gitsune is described as a rat-sized fox which can be kept in a pipe.

According to the Zen'an Zuihitsu the kanko is a fox the size of a weasel or rat, with vertical eyes and thin hair. The magic-user summons the kanko to appear inside a bamboo pipe which he is holding, whereupon the fox will answer all the questions it is asked. The origin of this practice is traced back to a yamabushi who obtained this art while undergoing strict asceticism on Mount Kinpu. These Kanko are said to be numerous in the northern mountains of Suruga, Tōtōmi, and Mikawa Provinces.

Researcher Inoue Enryō in his Yōkaigaku Kōgi, quotes a newspaper article regarding the kanko, in which it is a tiny, mouse-sized creature which hails from Shinano Province. It is named for its tail, which is like a pipe cut in half. It can be tamed and kept in a pocket or sleeve, and uses its supernatural power to seek out assorted information which it then whispers to its master. A person who keeps it is thus able to see into both the past and future.

Mokumokuren

Description: a swarm of eyes that appear on a paper sliding door in an old building.

Info: In Japanese Mythology, Mokumokuren are spirits that live in torn shōji (Japanese paper sliding walls). If the shōji has many holes, eyes can sometimes be seen on it, which, if looked at long enough, can make people blind. The only way to remove the spirit from the wall is to patch up the holes in it.

Mujina

Description: a shapeshifting badger.

Info: Mujina is an old Japanese term primarily referring to the badger. In some regions the term refers instead to the Japanese raccoon dog (also called tanuki) or to introduced civets. Adding to the confusion, in some regions badger-like animals are also known as mami, and in one part of Tochigi Prefecture badgers are referred to as tanuki and raccoon dogs are referred to as mujina.

Like the tanuki and the fox, the mujina of Japanese folklore is an avid shapeshifter and deceiver of humans. One of the forms the mujina is purported to take, as popularized in a story by Lafcadio Hearn, is that of a "faceless ghost". This particular sort of monster is often referred to by English speakers as a mujina, but the Japanese know it as noppera-bō.

Namazu

Description: a giant catfish that causes earthquakes.

Info: In Japanese mythology, Namazu is a giant catfish who causes earthquakes. Namazu lives in the mud beneath the earth, and is guarded by the god Kashima who restrains the fish with a stone. When Kashima lets his guard fall, Namazu thrashes about, causing violent earthquakes.

Ningyo

Description: a fish person or "mermaid".

Info: Ningyo, often translated as "mermaid," is a fish-like creature from Japanese folklore. Anciently, it was described with a mouth like a monkey's, small teeth like a fish's, shining golden scales, and a quiet voice like a skylark or a flute. Its flesh is pleasant-tasting, and anyone who eats it will attain remarkable longevity. However, catching a ningyo was believed to bring storms and misfortune, so fishermen who caught these creatures were said to throw them back into the sea. A ningyo washed onto the beach was an omen of war or calamity.

Noppera-bō

Description: a faceless ghost.

Info: The Noppera-bō, or faceless ghost, is a Japanese legendary creature. They are sometimes mistakenly referred to as a mujina, an old Japanese word for a badger or raccoon dog. Although the mujina can assume the form of the other, noppera-bō are usually humans. Such creatures were thought to sometimes transform themselves into noppera-bō in order to frighten humans. Lafcadio Hearn used the animals' name as the title of his story about faceless monsters, probably resulting in the misused terminology.

Noppera-bō are known primarily for frightening humans, but are usually otherwise harmless. They appear at first as ordinary human beings, sometimes impersonating someone familiar to the victim, before causing their features to disappear, leaving a blank, smooth sheet of skin where their face should be.

Nue

Description: a monkey-headed, raccoon dog-bodied, tiger-legged, snake-tailed monster which plagued the emperor with nightmares in the Heike Monogatari.

Info: A nue is a legendary creature found in Japanese folklore. It is described as having the head of a monkey, the body of a raccoon dog, the legs of a tiger, and a snake as a tail. According to the legend, a nue can transform into a black cloud and fly. Due to its appearance, it is sometimes referred to as a Japanese chimera[citation needed]. Nue are supposed to be bringers of misfortune and illness.[citation needed]

According to The Tale of the Heike, Emperor Konoe, the Emperor of Japan, became sick after having terrible nightmares every night, and a dark cloud appeared at two o'clock in the morning on roof of the palace in Kyoto during the summer of 1153. The story says that the samurai Minamoto no Yorimasa staked-out the roof one night and fired an arrow into the cloud, out of which fell a dead nue. Yorimasu then supposedly sank the body in the Sea of Japan.

In a local expansion of the story, the nue's corpse floated into a certain bay, and the locals, fearing a curse, buried it. A mound which exists today is supposed to be this grave.

Nukekubi

Description: a vicious human-like monster whose head detaches from its body, often confused with the rokurokubi.

Info: Nukekubi are monsters found in Japanese folklore. By day, nukekubi appear to be normal human beings. By night, however, their heads and necks detach smoothly from their bodies and fly about independently in search of human prey. These heads attack by screaming (to increase their victims' fright). then closing in and biting.

While the head and neck are detached, the body of a nukekubi becomes inanimate. In some legends, this serves as one of the creatures few weaknesses; if a nukekubi's head cannot locate and reattach to its body by sunrise, the creature dies. Legends often tell of would-be victims foiling the creatures by destroying or hiding their bodies while the heads are elsewhere.

By day, nukekubi often try to blend into human society. They sometimes live in groups, impersonating normal human families. The only way to tell a nukekubi from a normal human being is a line of red symbols around the base of the neck where the head detaches. Even this small detail is easily concealed beneath clothing or jewelry.

Nuppeppo

Description: an animated lump of decaying human flesh.

Info: A Nuppeppo is a Japanese spirit; appearing at midnight in ruined temples or near graveyards--a chunk of dead flesh walking by itself. This yokai has made many appearances in several films, including the classic yokai monsters trilogy made in the late 60's.

Nure-onna

Description: a female snake-like monster who appears on the shore.

Info: A nure-onna ("wet woman") is an amphibious creature with the head of a woman and the body of a snake. While the description of her appearance varies slightly from story to story, she has been described as being 300 m in length and has snake-like eyes, long claws, fangs and long, beautiful hair. She is typically spotted on a shore, washing her hair.

A nure-onna's intention are unknown. In some stories, she is a monstrous being who is powerful enough to crush trees with her tail and feeds on humans. She carries with her a small, child-like bundle, which she uses to attract potential victims. If a well-intentioned person offers to hold the baby for her, the nure-onna will let them. If they attempt to discard the bundle, however, it is revealed that it is not a child at all. Instead, the bundle becomes incredibly heavy and prevents the victim from fleeing. She then uses her long, snake-like tongue to suck all the blood from her victim’s body. In other stories, a nure-onna is simply seeking solitude as she washes her hair and reacts violently to those who bother her.

Nurikabe

Description: a ghostly wall that traps a traveler at night.

Info: The nurikabe is a yōkai, or spirit, from Japanese folklore. It manifests as a wall that impedes or misdirects walking travelers at night. Trying to go around is futile as it extends itself forever. Knocking on the lower part of the wall makes it disappear.

Oiwa

Description: the ghost of a woman with a distorted face who was murdered by her husband.

Info:

Banchō Sarayashiki

Description:

Info: Nanboku incorporated two sensational and real-life murders into Yotsuya Kaidan, combining fact and fiction in a manner that resonated with audiences. The first involved two servants who had murdered their respective masters. They were caught and executed on the same day. The second murder was from a samurai who discovered his concubine was having an affair with a servant. The samurai had the faithless concubine and servant nailed to a wooden board and thrown into the Kanda River.

Ōkubi

Description:

Info: In Japanese folklore, Ōkubi are giant heads of either men or women. An ōkubi appearing in the sky is a sign of impending disaster, which may be a typhoon, earthquake, tsunami, or fire. Ōkubi are otherwise harmless and will disappear soon after the first sighting.

Onibaba

Description: the demon hag.

Info: Onibaba is an Oni from Japanese folklore that has the appearance of an old woman but is a yōkai that feasts on humans. Variously known as the “Demon-Hag,” “Old Hag,” “Mountain Woman,” “the Goblin of Adachigahara,” and “Kurozuka,” the Onibaba has many stories behind her name.

The Onibaba has the appearance of a shriveled old woman. Some of her more distinctive features include having a disheveled, maniacal appearance, wild-looking hair, and an oversized mouth. She is sometimes depicted with a kitchen knife or sitting with a spool of thread. She often conceals her demonic appearance in order to put visitors into a false sense of security.

The woman from whom the Onibaba originated is said to have lived in a cave or small house in Adachi-ga-hara and died close-by, in a place called Kurozuka. There is a small museum in Adachigahara that is said to hold her remains as well as the cooking pot and knife that she used on her victims.

Raijū

Description: a beast that falls to earth in a lightning bolt.

Info: Raijū ("thunder animal" or "thunder beast") is a legendary creature from Japanese mythology. Its body is composed of either lightning or fire and may be in the shape of a cat, tanuki, monkey, or weasel. The form of a white and blue wolf (or even a wolf wrapped in lightning) is also common. It may also fly about as a ball of lightning or fire (in fact, the creature may be an attempt to explain the phenomenon of ball lightning). Its cry sounds like thunder.

Raiju is the companion of Raijin, the Shinto god of lightning. While the beast is generally calm and harmless, during thunderstorms, it becomes agitated and leaps about in trees, fields, and even buildings (trees that have been struck by lightning are said to have been scratched by Raiju's claws).

Another of Raiju's peculiar behaviors is sleeping in human navels. This prompts Raiden to shoot lightning arrows at Raiju to wake the creature up, and thus harms the person in whose belly the demon is resting. Superstitious people therefore often sleep on their stomachs during bad weather, but other legends say that Raiju will only hide in the navels of people who sleep outdoors.

Rokurokubi

Description: a person, usually female, whose neck can stretch indefinitely.

Info: Rokurokubi (ろくろ首, rokuro-kubi?) are yokai found in Japanese folklore. They look like normal human beings by day, but at night they gain the ability to stretch their necks to great lengths. They can also change their faces to those of terrifying oni (Japanese ogres) to better scare mortals.

In their daytime human forms, rokurokubi often live undetected and may even take mortal spouses. Many rokurokubi become so accustomed to such a life that they take great pains to keep their demonic forms secret. They are tricksters by nature, however, and the urge to frighten and spy on human beings is hard to resist. Some rokurokubi thus resort to revealing themselves only to drunkards, fools, the sleeping, or the blind in order to satisfy these urges. Other rokurokubi have no such compunctions and go about frightening mortals with abandon. A few, it is said, are not even aware of their true nature and consider themselves normal humans. This last group stretch their necks out while asleep in an involuntary action; upon waking up in the morning, they find they have weird dreams regarding seeing their surroundings in unnatural angles.

According to some tales, rokurokubi were once normal human beings but were transformed by karma for breaking various precepts of Buddhism. Often, these rokurokubi are truly sinister in nature, eating people or drinking their blood rather than merely frightening them. These demonic rokurokubi often have a favored prey, such as others who have broken Buddhist doctrine or human men.

Satori

Description: an ape-like creature that can read minds.

Info: Satori ("consciousness") is a type of mountain-dwelling yōkai in Japanese folklore that holds the power to read human thoughts. The creature is said to approach travelers on mountain paths in hominid form and speak their thoughts aloud. The way to counter a satori is to empty one's mind, in which case the creature will grow bored and leave, run in fear, or even die.

Sazae-oni

Description: a turban snail that turns into a woman.

Info: The most popular legend of the Sazae-oni is that a group of pirates rescued a drowning woman from the sea and took her back to the ship. They vied for her attention, but soon found that she was willing to have sex with all of them, cutting their testicles off afterwards. The men, obviously upset, threw her into the ocean, where she revealed her true form, and bartered with the captain for their testicles back. The Sazae-oni ended up leaving with a large amount of pirate gold. Testicles are sometimes called kin-tama or "golden balls" in Japanese, so the punchline goes that gold was bought with gold.

Shachihoko

Description: a tiger-headed fish whose image is often used in architecture.

Info: A shachihoko is an animal in Japanese folklore with the head of a tiger and the body of a carp. It was believed that this animal could cause the rain to fall, and as such, temples and castles were often adorned with roof ornaments (shibi) crafted in the form of a shachihoko, in order to protect them from fire.

Tsukumogami

Description: inanimate objects that come to life after a hundred years.

Info: Tsukumogami ("ninety-nine of ago spirit") are a type of Japanese spirit. According to the Tsukumogami-emaki, tsukumogami originate from items or artifacts that have reached their 100th birthday and thus become alive and aware. Any object of this age, from swords to toys, can become a tsukumogami. Tsukumogami are considered spirits and supernatural beings, as opposed to enchanted items.

Tsurube-otoshi

Description: a monster that drops out of the tops of trees.

Info: Tsurube-otoshi is a creature from Japanese folklore. It lurks in the tops of trees and drops down on unsuspecting humans, and has various descriptions - sometimes it is some sort of oni or tengu, sometimes it is a disembodied head, and sometimes it is a fireball. Its name is an expression for "falling quickly" which literally means "a well-bucket dropping", and sometimes the tsurube-otoshi instead drops a well-bucket to scoop up its prey.

Ubume

Description: the spirit of a woman who died in childbirth.

Info: Ubume ("childbirth woman"), a type of yōkai or bakemono (Japanese ghosts), are the spirits of women who have either died in childbirth or died without making sure that their children have been provided for. Ubume address a common concern in Japan; that of a mother's duty toward her children, and the stories of ubume are many. Appearing in the form common to most Japanese ghosts, they are clad in robes of white and have long, unbound and dishevelled hair.

In some stories, the ubume will buy sweets and other foods for their still-living child with coins that later turn to dead leaves. In other stories, the ubume will try to attract the attention of a living human, and lead him or her to the place where its child is hidden, so that the child can be properly ritualized and accepted into human society.

Umibōzu

Description: a giant monster appearing on the surface of the sea.

Info: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/69/Kuwana_-_The_sailor_Tokuso_and_the_sea_monster.jpg/397px-Kuwana_-_The_sailor_Tokuso_and_the_sea_monster.jpg

Ushi-oni

Description: a name given to an assortment of ox-headed monsters.

Info: Umibōzu is a spirit in Japanese folklore. The Umibōzu is said to live in the ocean and capsize the ship of anyone who dares speak to it. This spirit's name, which combines the character for "sea" with the character of "Buddhist monk," is possibly related to the fact that the Umibōzu is said to have a large, round head, resembling the shaven heads of Buddhist monks. Alternatively they are enormous Yokai (spectres) that appear to shipwreck victims and fishermen. They are believed to be drowned priests, and exhibit the shaven head and typically appears to be praying. It is usually reported as having a grey, cloud-like torso and serpentine limbs.

According to one story, if angered, they ask that the crews provide a barrel that it proceeds to fill with sea water to drown them. To avoid this disastrous fate, it is necessary to give him a bottomless barrel.

This folktale is likely related to another Japanese tradition, which says that the souls of people who have no one to look after their graves take refuge at sea.

Uwan

Description: a spirit named for the sound it shouts when surprising people.

Info: An uwan is a disembodied voice that inhabits old, abandoned temples and homes. According to ancient legends from Aomori Prefecture Japan, when a person enters a one of these buildings, the formless yōkai shouts out an ear-piercing “Uwan!” The voice is only audible to people inside the building — those outside hear nothing. Since an uwan does not physically exist and only consists of sound, it poses no physical danger.

Ancient Japanese legends provide several examples of formless yōkai like the uwan, which consist of nothing but sound, light or other natural phenomena. In the Edo period, however, these demon spirits assumed physical bodies as artists such as Sawaki Suushi incorporated them into their work.

Wanyūdō

Description: a flaming wheel with a man's head in the center, that sucks out the soul of anyone who sees it.

Info: Wanyūdō is said to take the form of a burning oxcart wheel bearing the tormented face of a man. Various folklore purports him as the condemned soul of a tyrant daimyo who, in life, was known for having his victims drawn on the back of an oxcart. He is said to guard the gates of Hell and to wander back and forth along the road between this world and the underworld, scaring townsfolk as he passes and stealing the souls of anyone who gets too close in order to bring them to Hell with him.

Yuki-onna

Description: the snow woman.

Info: Yuki-onna appears on snowy nights as a tall, beautiful woman with long hair. Her inhumanly pale or even transparent skin makes her blend into the snowy landscape (as famously described in Lafcadio Hearn's Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things). She sometimes wears a white kimono, but other legends describe her as nude, with only her face and hair standing out against the snow. Despite her inhuman beauty, her eyes can strike terror into mortals. She floats across the snow, leaving no footprints (in fact, some tales say she has no feet, a feature of many Japanese ghosts), and she can transform into a cloud of mist or snow if threatened.

Zashiki-warashi

Description: a protective child-like house spirit.

Info: The name breaks down to zashiki, a tatami floored room, and warashi, an archaic regional term for a child. The appearance of this spirit is that of a 5 or 6 year child with bobbed hair and a red face. Zashiki-warashi can be found in well-maintained and preferably large old houses. It is said that once a zashiki-warashi inhabits a house, it brings the residence great fortune; on the other hand, should a zashiki-warashi depart, the domain soon falls into a steep decline.

To attract and maintain a zashiki-warashi in the home, it is said the spirit must be noticed, appreciated and cared for properly, much in the manner one would raise a child, though too much attention may drive it off. As the zashiki-warashi is child-like in nature, it is prone to playing harmless pranks and occasionally causing mischief. They might for instance sit on a guest's futon, turn people's pillows over or cause sounds similar to kagura music to be heard from rooms no one uses. Sometimes they leave little footsteps in ashes. There are different variations as to who can see the zashiki-warashi; usually this is limited to inhabitants of the house, sometimes to children.

((Will count later, too tired right now and part 2 of other))