A Story About Dandelions.

Yesterday, Sunday, I went to the riverbed with my daughter to play soccer. It was like a practice session to get her ready for joining a soccer club.

Under the slightly sweaty, warm weather, we rolled the ball back and forth to each other. There is something moving about the way she chases after the ball coming toward her feet. I understood a little better why fathers everywhere long to play catch.

That said, her concentration didn't last very long. She gave up early and said she wanted to do something else. I put my daughter on the back seat of my bicycle and moved to a different spot. It was a little further down the riverbed, where many dandelions were growing.

My daughter has always liked coming to this place. A dandelion colony. Several clusters gathered together, with many fluff balls swaying in the breeze.

My daughter plucks one and blows on it. The fluff flies away, drifting on the wind. We both watched it intently.

My daughter looks at the dandelion flower. A vivid yellow, often called dandelion color. But when I look at it, I feel a slight bitterness in the back of my throat.

Dandelions have parts called involucral bracts. Simply put, they are the jagged bits at the base of the flower, and these are curled back significantly.

Yes, the dandelions in this area are common dandelions, which means they are an invasive species. However, for most people, they probably aren't even aware of that difference.

It is said that the common dandelion was originally brought to Japan during the Meiji era for food. With its vigorous reproductive power, it spread throughout the country in the blink of an eye.

The common dandelion is currently designated as a 'Cautionary Invasive Alien Species' by the Ministry of the Environment and is also listed in the '100 Worst Invasive Alien Species in Japan' determined by the Ecological Society of Japan.

Near where I live, there are some places that protect the native Japanese dandelion, but as far as I know, I almost never see them in the wild.

Native species and invasive species. When you draw a line like this, the common dandelion sounds like something very bad.

However, when you think about it, it was our ancestors who brought them here, and the common dandelion itself is just desperately trying to live there.

Yet, non-human living things have always had their lives priced between the environment and the economy in every era.

I remember when I used to ride my mother's bicycle to nursery school. In the middle of a field of canola flowers, I would blow on dandelion fluff in the wind and watch it fly away, and I remember how much fun that was.

At that time, I wasn't scattering seeds with the intention of spreading an invasive species. However, it cannot be denied that it had an impact, large or small, on the vegetation of the Japanese dandelion.

My daughter's eyes sparkle as she gazes at the dandelion. My daughter's happy face and the words 'invasive species' swirl and bubble in my head.

I looked at my daughter's face, wearing a full smile with the plucked flower in her hair like an accessory. The jagged involucral bracts visible from under the petals seemed to be staring right at me.

I could not look directly at that gaze, as if it were questioning me about something.

My daughter blows on it. The fluff dances vigorously into the wind.

Some landed on the road, others in the grass. In two weeks, they will surely germinate and sprout new shoots.

If any Japanese dandelions remained in a corner of this riverbank, these others would surely take away even more of the native species' habitat.

...Having written this far, I will reveal the truth: recent research suggests that it is not actually the case that common dandelions are driving Japanese dandelions to extinction or causing widespread genetic contamination through hybridization.

The blooming period of the Japanese dandelion is limited. On the other hand, the common dandelion blooms all year round. And, in fact, the places where they grow are different. Common dandelions grow relatively anywhere, but Japanese dandelions do not.

Because it looks like everything is common dandelions, that must be why people thought that.
The decline in the number of Japanese dandelions is largely due to the loss of suitable habitats caused by human development, but for a long time, the common dandelion has been labeled a 'villain' as a scapegoat for that reasoning.

I, too, thought that way until recently.

Images are terrifying. Even knowing that much, when I see a common dandelion, the words 'invasive alien species' still flicker somewhere in the back of my mind.

The labeled discriminatory feelings toward the common dandelion are stuck in my mind and won't peel away.

Ignoring my hesitation, my daughter pursed her lips and blew on the next dandelion fluff.

Common dandelions and Japanese dandelions. A part of me wants to think both are beautiful, and a part of me cannot. The knowledge that was once embedded sticks like a curse and won't leave my head.

A strong wind blew.
In the sunny spot, my daughter laughed.
As if drawn by that, I laughed back.

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