Flower hike: The Surprise hurricane lilies of Iharayama! Ookitsunekamisori in bloom 井原山

After a few days of resting from the Daisen and Unzen trips this week I headed Itoshima on search of a seasonal treat. At this time of year some mountains here in Kyushu are set a blaze with wonderful redish orangeish flowers carpeting the forest floor. These flowers are called Ookitsunekamisori or Hurricane lilies in English and their scientific name is Lycoris sanguinea. The flower is native to east Asia. Although their English name is Hurraine lilies I have decided to call them Fox flowers, much nicer I think. The rest if the hike was also great with perfect weather and distant views from the summit of Iharayama. It was very busy though so I had to be a little more careful on the trail, still I managed to keep my pace up for most of the hike and finished in plenty of time for the bus. My advice is to get out an find the seasonal features of the mountains as they don't last long and you will feel lucky to have been able to experience them.