Colony of Eastern Skunk Cabbage

"A three-minute walk from Zazenso-mae bus stop. This colony of eastern skunk cabbage blooms in most years from mid-February to early March. The name of this plant in Japanese, ""zazenso"" (literally ""zazen meditation grass""), is derived from the appearance of its purple flowers, which look like a monk meditating in the seated, zazen position. If you come early enough in the season, you just might get to see the plants flowering amidst lingering snow. It is rare for eastern skunk cabbage to grow in such a large colony, and this one lies in what is believed to be the plant's southernmost limit in Japan. In 1986, the colony was designated a Specific Plant Community by the Ministry of the Environment; in 1989, it became a Green Preservation Zone under Shiga Prefecture's Natural Environment Conservation Ordinance."