Clusters of small white flowers lined a single stem. Okatoranoo in the Ninomaru grove of the East Gardens of the Imperial Palace, just south of Palaceside Building.
The drooping tip that curves slightly upward resembles a tiger's tail — hence the name. The English name "gooseneck loosestrife" suggests a goose's neck. Tiger and goose: Japan and abroad see the same plant differently. To me it looks more like a cat's tail...
Many plants bear "toranoo" in their names. Numatoranoo and Okatoranoo share the primrose family — plausible — but Mizutoranoo is in the mint family, Echigo- and Himetoranoo in Scrophulariaceae, Ibukitoranoo in Polygonaceae. They differ in habitat, flower arrangement, and color but feel similar.
Houseplants called "toranoo" include sansevieria, popular for negative ions. Unlike Okatoranoo, it has stiff narrow leaves with yellow stripes, likened to a tiger's tail.
Those who name plants may love animals. You can step on botanical toranoo, but best not step on a real tiger's tail. As an aside, in pro baseball the Carp catching the Tiger's tail and climbing the standings is welcome news — sorry, tiger fans.
