Why the Iris 'Wild Surprise'? (Tall Bearded Iris)
The color pallet of the flower is similar to the nonbinary flag, and even aligns itself in order of the flag! Some of the darker, and slightly desaturated ends of the ruffles are almost like the color black too.
In my opinion, this flower is also reflective of being nonbinary in more ways than one.
For example, Bearded Irises reproduce asexually through rhizomes, rather then the sexual components seen in other plants. Therefore its sexual expression is outside of the binary, much like the gender expression of non-binary folks.
Also, in my own personal experience, I've realized that despite sharing a label, many non-binary people have unique expressions related to gender -- Whether it be abstract, or absent, maybe even both.. or more. Which isn't unusual, considering as nonbinary is a large umbrella label, but a nice reminder of our differences as people.
...In that same vein of thought, this flower reminds me of that. Mainly due to the differences that can be found in it: The shape, ruffles, colour, size.. so on. It in some way reflects that uniqueness to me, which makes it all the more favorable to me.
Any other suggestions for a flower representing non-binary people?
Not really! The only things i've seen so far has been a few reddit suggestions. Namely being the "Dungowan Bush Tomato" for its unstable / changing sexual expression, and the "Passion Flower" and "purple, yellow, and black pansy" for their similarities to the color pallet of the flag.
(i'd put the images of them here, but they refuse to load.)
to be honest i was considering the purple/yellow/black pansy but pansies already have an association with gay men. That's because they historically were a symbol for free-thought movements / humanist ideas, up until the 20th century, when it became a derogatory term for effeminate men. That association would only further strengthen during the "Pansy Craze" of the 1920's and 1930's when gay bars and gay nightlife became prominent in NYC. So, it's now being reclaimed by the gay community ..therefore I wouldn't want to disrespect that.
reads relating to this post:
asexual plant reproduction; bulbs and rhizomes
the meaning of iris flowers (symbolically)
plants / flowers associated with being queer.
