Birth flower for December 3
Holly olive
Meaning: caution, protection
The Japanese name hiiragi comes from an old verb for a throbbing, prickling pain. At Setsubun, people fix a grilled sardine head on a sprig of it and hang it by the door, letting the spines and the smell keep demons out. Oddly, very old trees grow leaves with no spines at all. Despite the look, it is not related to Christmas holly but to sweet osmanthus.