Mt. Karakunidake: Flora and Fauna
Springtime on Mt. Karakunidake is colorful in a muted, subtle way, with yellow winter hazel blossoms, reddish-pink Miyama-Kirishima azaleas, and purplish-blue haru-rindo gentians. Summer flowers include the white panicle hydrangea, the pale blooms of the koba-no-kurozuru, and the purple kirishima-higotai. Dark-red niga-ichigo and balloon berries add accents here and there. In autumn, there is crimson foliage and silver grass far below on the Ebino Kogen Highlands, while winter brings snowscapes and hoarfrost.
Green woodpeckers, bush warblers, and Japanese tits dart through the trees on the lower slopes, as do cuckoos in the summer. Throughout the climb, many insects make an appearance, including the jumbo dragonfly and chestnut tiger butterfly. The summit, in particular, buzzes with dragonflies that come to feast on smaller insects swept up by air currents.