Photo/Illutration Tall goldenrods sway in the autumn breeze in Kiyama, Saga Prefecture, in October 2006. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

The tall goldenrod (Solidago altissima), known as “seitakaawadachiso” in Japan, is quite a reliable plant, according to Toru Sugano, who has authored a slew of books about nature in his neighborhood.

For 24 years, Sugano recorded the periods when the plant came into bloom in areas around his home in Yokohama. In 21 of them, tall goldenrods there bloomed within four days from the last day of September.

This plant lets you know that “September has ended and October has come” without a calendar, Sugano writes in a book about natural harbingers.

Tall goldenrods are sometimes disfavored because of their great propagating power. But the plant can serve as an accurate portent of mid-autumn for those in the know.

Plants, birds and insects herald the arrival of seasons. They are natural features of the seasons and important indicators of climate.

This notion is behind the phenological program of the local meteorological observatories across the nation, which involves observing 57 periodic events in biological life cycles, such as the dates of emergence of specific flowers and the first bird calls.

But the program will be significantly scaled down from next year, with only a small number of high-profile phenomena, such as the flowering of cherry and ume (Japanese apricot) blossoms, remaining.

The reason for the downsizing is that it has become difficult to observe many of the plants and animals used for the program in areas around meteorological observatories due to urbanization and global warming.

Indeed, it must now be difficult to find “tonosamagaeru” (black-spotted pond frogs) or “akiakane” (red dragonflies) in many parts of the nation.

But my impression is that “higurashi” (evening cicadas) and “shirotsumekusa” (white clovers), two other species that will be dropped from the list, are still widely observed in this country.

There are two basic perspectives for observing and understanding things: a bird’s-eye or a high-angle view, and a worm’s-eye view, as if seen from below.

Meteorological observations today rely mainly on the views of satellites, flying in outer space far above birds. Things have reached the point where neither a worm’s-eye view nor even a human-eye view is required for meteorological observations.

One is tempted to question, however, whether sophisticated technology is really enough to detect great changes related to environmental destruction and global warming.

I remember with nostalgia the days when frogs were all around us and their life cycles were like clockwork.

Our lifestyles cause many living things to disappear. I wonder how the speed has increased.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Nov. 15

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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