You can call me Heliah. My pronouns are it/he/sun and i am an adult.
This blog will be for posting about flowers, art, and possibly some architecture here and there. I'll include flower language, etymology, and fun facts when available.
heres the list of flowers i want to do soon!
amaranthus
cosmos
zinnia
red spider lily
Below will be a masterlist of every resource i use, including any images sourced from other places.
Background and banner: Veronika Galkina on Unsplash
Icon: Morra O on Unsplash
Description box icon: thepngpixie on tumblr (not sure if they want tagged or not so im not for now)
General etymology: Etymonline
Botanical books: Biodiversity Heritage Library
Flora Lordinensis by William Curtis
Favorite flowers of garden and greenhouse by Edward Step (yes it is all lowercase in publishing yes it drives me crazy.)
Botanical Books: Internet Archive
Illustratio systematis sexualis linnaeani by John Miller
Flora Lordinensis by William Curtis
Favorite flowers of garden and greenhouse by Edward Step
British Phaenogamous Botany by William Baxter
The Botanist Magazine by William Curtis
The Native Flowers and Ferns of the United States by Thomas Meehan
English Botany, or Coloured figures of British plants by James Sowerby
Image from Prof. Dr. Otto Wilhelm Thomé Flora von Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz 1885
History and Etymology: The name of the genus Helichrysum comes from the Greek words "helios," meaning "sun," and "chrysos", meaning "gold". They are native to Africa, Europe, Asia and Australia, with over 200 species total.
Flower Symbolism: Everlastings (unsurprisingly) most often symbolize never ending love, and remembrance.
Fun Facts:
Helichrysum italicum, or Italian strawflower, is often used for essential oils and cooking due to its strong aroma and color! This species only grows around the Mediterranean, hence the name.
This genus is in the Asteraceae family, shared by flowers like sunflowers, daisies, and dandelions!
In 1990, many species under this genus were classified under a new genus. Xerochrysum. I cannot tell the difference between them!
Image from Familiar Garden Flowers by Shirley Hibberd and F. Edward Hulme
History and Etymology: Gloriosa Daisies are native to North America, and have been used for medicine by Native nations such as the Ojibwe. The epithet hirta means "hairy" in Latin, because of the appearance of the stems.
Flower Symbolism: This flower stands for justice, pure-mindedness, and occasionally the sentiment "love conquers all".
Fun Facts:
While a very common name for this flower is the Gloriosa Daisy, there is a genus of flowers called Gloriosas, and they look nothing alike!
This flower is the state flower of Maryland.
While toxic to cats, the Ojibwe people, who are native to the Great Lakes region, used this flower to heal things like snake bites and common colds.
Sources Below
Image: Familiar Garden Flowers, accessed from the Biodiversity Library
History and Etymology: Rudbeckia hirta Wikipedia
Symbolism: Dale Harvey's Meaning of Flowers Index
Fun Facts: Rudbeckia hirta Wikipedia
Image from English Botany, or Coloured figures of English botany (v.3, 1864) by James Sowerby
History and Etymology: Sweet briar roses are native to parts of Europe and Asia. It's gotten to many other places, and is deemed an invasive species by many, due to how fast it spreads. Portugal actually considers it as an endangered species!
There are many derived meanings of "sweet briar", from many different languages such as Old French and Vulgar Latin. All of them essentially come down to meaning "prickly" and "sweet".
Flower Symbolism: The Sweet briar rose most often means "I wound to heal". It also carries meaning of poetry, simplicity, and royalty.
Fun Facts:
This flower is called sweet, because it smells like apples!
Eglantine flowers grow a fruit! They're called rose hips, and they were eaten by British soldiers during WWII for their vitamins.
I actually didn't think this would be the same genus as typical roses! Eglantines only have five petals that barely overlap each other, but they are certainly in the same genus as typical roses!
Sources Below
Image: English Botany, or Coloured figures of English botany (v.3, 1864, pg 211) by James Sowerby
History and Etymology: Wikipedia Rosa rubiginosa page Etymonline, "Eglantine"
Flower Symbolism: Dale Harvey's Meaning of Flowers. From the Wayback Machine
Fun Facts: Wikipedia Rosa rubiginosa page
Image from English Botany, or Coloured figures of British Plants, by James Sowerby
History and Etymology: Myosotis flowers are often in a baby blue color, but the petals can also be in pinks or yellows. They are in many places within the Northern Hemisphere, mostly within Europe and Asia. There are a couple species within the Americas, Australia and New Zealand, but there are many more native species where they originate. The word "myosotis" is Ancient Greek for "mouse ears", as the petals have a similar shape to them.
Flower Symbolism: Myosotis symbolizes true love, hope, constancy of love, and of course, remembrance, often simply listed as "forget me not". There's not much variation found for this flower, as the name of it alone explains the most common meaning.
Fun Facts:
There are 156 recognized species of Myosotis, but there are over 500 on record! Many of the ones that are not "official" are either hybrids of other species, or simply different names for them.
Forget-Me-Nots are taken as a symbol of many things. It's the official flower of Alaska and Dalsland, Sweden. It's used as remembrance for the Armenian Genocide, the Freemasons that were targeted during WWII, and several other tragedies.
While it's the same meaning, there's a German folktale that provided them with the flowers symbolism: a German knight had been fallen into a river when picking flowers for his lady, and he said the words "forget-me-not!" before he was drowned.
Sources Below:
Image: James Sowerby's English botany, or Coloured figures of British plants, 1863 pg 290
History and Etymology: Wikipedia's Myosotis genus page
Flower Symbolism: Dale Harvey's Meanings of Flowers, captured by the Wayback Machine
Fun Facts: Wikipedia's Myosotis genus page
Image by James Sowerby from from William Woodville and Sir William Jackson Hooker's 'Medical Botany' 1832
History and Etymology:
Lavender is native to the Old World, found commonly around the Mediterranean coasts and parts of Asia and the Middle East, as the plant prefers a drier climate.
The word "lavender" might stem from two origins, the first of which would be from the phrase "to wash" in the romantic languages, as lavender is commonly used in baths. The second origin would be from "livid" dating to the 15th century, as the word at the time also referred to a bluish-purple color.
Flower Symbolism:
Lavender could have very many meanings depending on the context. It could symbolize luck and loyalty, but also distrust and sadness. Not to mention the common symbolism of calmness and healing, due to its physical properties.
Fun Facts:
Lavender has been used for dozens of purposes, over the centuries. Most commonly it has its oils extracted to use for aromatherapy. Lavender is also a somewhat common herb in the kitchen (I personally LOVE lavender honey and lavender-rosemary bread).
There are over 30 known species of Lavendula, some of which came around naturally, and others that were bred. As lavender spread around the world, in some locations it is considered invasive.
"Lavender" is a word very much taken in by the queer community, especially in the olden days. Terms such as lavender marriage and lavender lads were flowery ways of sharing one's queerness on a level of secrecy.
Sources listed below
Image: Meisterdrucke Prints, image by James Sowerby
History: Lavandula Wikipedia
Etymology: Etymonline
Flower Symbolism: Dale Harvey's Flower Meanings
Fun Facts: Lavendula wiki