Famous Flowers

Rose

The rose is a worldwide symbol of love and beauty and has been cultivated for thousands of years. There are thousands of varieties in almost every colour except true blue.

💡 Did you know? A rose's 'thorns' are botanically not thorns at all but outgrowths of the bark (prickles).

Tulip

The tulip originally comes from Central Asia and reached Europe via the Ottoman Empire. In the Netherlands it became a national symbol.

💡 Did you know? In the 17th century it triggered 'tulip mania' in Holland: single bulbs briefly cost as much as a house.

Sunflower

The sunflower can grow over two metres tall and yields seeds and cooking oil. Its large 'flower head' is really made up of hundreds of tiny individual flowers.

💡 Did you know? Young sunflowers turn their heads to follow the sun during the day (heliotropism).

Daisy

The daisy blooms almost all year round on meadows and lawns. Its flowers open in the morning and close again in the evening.

💡 Did you know? The name 'daisy' comes from 'day's eye', because the flower opens by day and closes at night.

Dandelion

The dandelion grows almost everywhere and turns its yellow flowers into the familiar white 'blowball' with parachute-like seeds. Its leaves and roots are edible.

💡 Did you know? Break the stem and a bitter white milky sap oozes out, leaving brown stains on the skin.

Common poppy

The corn poppy glows bright red along field edges and on wasteland. Its delicate petals often drop after just a single day.

💡 Did you know? As a symbol of remembrance for fallen soldiers it is worn in many countries on Remembrance Day.

Lily

The lily is an elegant bulb flower with large, often fragrant trumpet-shaped blooms. Since antiquity it has been a symbol of purity.

💡 Did you know? Many lily species are highly toxic to cats: even small amounts can be fatal.

Orchid

Orchids form one of the largest plant families, with over 25,000 species. Many grow in the tropics as epiphytes perched on trees.

💡 Did you know? The spice vanilla comes from the pods of an orchid.

Daffodil

The narcissus flowers in spring; its best-known form is the yellow daffodil. Its bulbs sprout anew year after year.

💡 Did you know? All parts of the plant are poisonous: its name comes from the beautiful youth Narcissus of Greek myth.

Violet

The violet is a small, often fragrant spring flower, usually purple. It likes to grow along semi-shaded path edges.

💡 Did you know? The violet's scent briefly numbs the sense of smell: so you can only smell it in waves.

Forget-me-not

The forget-me-not bears dainty sky-blue flowers with a yellow eye. It is seen as a token of faithfulness and remembrance.

💡 Did you know? The name comes from a legend of a knight who fell into a river while picking the flower, crying 'Forget me not!'

Lily of the valley

In spring the lily of the valley bears small white bells and gives off an intense fragrance. It likes to grow in shady woodland.

💡 Did you know? The whole plant is highly poisonous: it is easily mistaken for edible wild garlic.

Hyacinth

The hyacinth flowers in spring in dense, strongly scented flower spikes. It can even be grown indoors in a glass of water.

💡 Did you know? Its scent is so intense that a few bulbs can fill an entire room.

Crocus

The crocus is one of the first heralds of spring and often blooms right through the snow. Its flowers open only in sunshine.

💡 Did you know? The costly spice saffron comes from the flower stigmas of an autumn-flowering crocus.

Carnation

The carnation has fringed petals and a spicy scent. It has been a popular cut flower for centuries.

💡 Did you know? The red carnation became a symbol of the labour movement in the 20th century.

Chrysanthemum

The chrysanthemum flowers in autumn in many shapes and colours. In East Asia it is held in high esteem.

💡 Did you know? In many European countries it is the classic flower for graves and mourning around All Saints' Day.

Dahlia

The dahlia blooms from summer to autumn in splendid, often ball-shaped flowers. It originally comes from Mexico.

💡 Did you know? There are tens of thousands of cultivated varieties: from tiny to plate-sized.

Peony

The peony flowers lavishly in late spring, often with densely doubled blooms. In one spot it can live for decades.

💡 Did you know? In China it is regarded as the 'queen of flowers' and a symbol of wealth and honour.

Marigold

The marigold glows orange to yellow and flowers all summer. It is a well-known medicinal plant used in ointments and creams.

💡 Did you know? Its petals are edible and were used as 'poor man's saffron' to colour food.

Lavender

Lavender is strongly aromatic and covers whole fields in Provence in purple. Its oil is used for relaxation and in cosmetics.

💡 Did you know? Its scent repels moths: which is why lavender sachets are placed in wardrobes.

Cornflower

The cornflower glows a vivid blue and once grew commonly in grain fields. Modern farming has made it rare.

💡 Did you know? It was the favourite flower of the Prussian royal house, above all of Queen Louise.

Snowdrop

The snowdrop is one of the first flowers of the year, often blooming through the snow as early as February. Its white bells nod on the stem.

💡 Did you know? Its bulbs contain galantamine, a substance used to treat Alzheimer's disease.

Water lily

The water lily floats with its round leaves on still water, rooted in the bed below. Its flowers open and close with the daylight.

💡 Did you know? Claude Monet painted hundreds of water-lily pictures in his garden at Giverny.

Magnolia

The magnolia flowers in spring with large pink-and-white blooms, often before the leaves appear. It is one of the oldest flowering plants on Earth.

💡 Did you know? Magnolias evolved before bees existed: they were originally pollinated by beetles.

Hydrangea

The hydrangea bears large, ball-shaped flower clusters and blooms all summer. It needs plenty of water: hence its name, from Greek for 'water vessel'.

💡 Did you know? The flower colour depends on the soil: acidic soil turns it blue, chalky soil pink.

Lilac

Lilac blooms in May with dense, strongly scented flower clusters in purple or white. It grows as a large shrub and is very hardy.

💡 Did you know? The colour 'lilac' is named after these blossoms.

Edelweiss

Edelweiss grows high in the Alps on rocky ground. Its star-shaped flowers are covered in dense white hairs.

💡 Did you know? The felty down protects the plant from cold and intense high-altitude sunlight: edelweiss is a protected species.

Iris

The iris has sword-shaped leaves and large, elegantly curved flowers. It grows at pond edges and in gardens.

💡 Did you know? The stylised iris is the well-known heraldic 'fleur-de-lis', for example of the French royal house.

Gerbera

The gerbera is a popular cut flower with large, daisy-like blooms in vivid colours. It comes from South Africa.

💡 Did you know? It is among the five best-selling cut flowers in the world.

Oxeye daisy

The oxeye daisy is the large white meadow daisy with a yellow centre that adorns whole meadows in summer. It is closely related to the common daisy.

💡 Did you know? Its petals are used in the classic love oracle 'He loves me, he loves me not'.