Birth flower for October 16
Wild aster
Meaning: Patience and fond memories
In Japan, the little pale purple and white daisies that line autumn roadsides are lumped together as nogiku, 'wild chrysanthemums' — really wild asters. Itō Sachio's 1906 novel The Grave of the Wild Chrysanthemum compares its innocent heroine to one, and the humble flower became a symbol of first love and nostalgia. Young leaves of some species, like Kalimeris (yomena), are even picked as a spring vegetable.