Floral emblem


In a number of countries, plants have been chosen as symbols to represent specific geographic areas. Some countries have a country-wide floral emblem; others in addition have symbols representing subdivisions. Different processes have been used to adopt these symbols – some are conferred by government bodies, whereas others are the result of informal public polls. The term floral emblem, which refers to flowers specifically, is primarily used in Australia and Canada. In the United States, the term state flower is more often used.

National flowers

Africa

Mauritius

The national flower of Mauritius is Trochetia boutoniana.
Lotus Nelumbo nucifera.

Seychelles

The national flower of the Seychelles is Angraecum eburneum, the tropicbird orchid.

South Africa

The national flower of South Africa is the King Protea.

Tunisia

The national flower for Tunisia is jasmine. It was chosen as a symbol for the 2010 revolution.

Asia

Bangladesh

is the National Flower of Bangladesh.It is called 'সাদা শাপলা' in Bengali language.

Brunei

Cambodia formally adopted the romduol as its national flower in the year 2005 by a royal decree. The royal decree designates the taxon as Mitrella mesnyi, however this is a taxonomically illegitimate synonym for Sphaerocoryne affinis.

Hong Kong

The Bauhinia × blakeana is the symbolic flower of Hong Kong.

India

is the National Flower of India. It is a sacred flower and occupies a unique position in the art and mythology of ancient India and has been an auspicious symbol of Indian culture since time immemorial.

Indonesia

There are three types of floral emblems that symbolize Indonesia:
All three were chosen on World Environment Day in 1990. and enforced by law through Presidential Decree No. 4 1993, On the other occasion Bunga Bangkai was also added as puspa langka together with Rafflesia.
Melati, a small white flower with sweet fragrance, has long been considered as a sacred flower in Indonesian tradition, as it symbolizes purity, sacredness, graceful simplicity and sincerity. For example, on her wedding day, a traditional Indonesian bride's hair is often adorned with arrangements of jasmine, while the groom's kris is often adorned with a lock of jasmine. However, jasmine is also often used as floral offering for spirits and deities, and also often present during funerals which gave it its mystical and sacred properties. Moon Orchid was chosen for its beauty, while the other two rare flowers, Rafflesia arnoldii and Titan arum were chosen to demonstrate uniqueness and Indonesian rich biodiversity.
Each of the 33 provinces of Indonesia also has a native plant as its provincial flower.

Israel

The Israeli national flower is the poppy anemone, chosen in 2013 to replace Cyclamen persicum.

Laos

The national flower is the plumeria, despite it being no longer endemic.

Malaysia

The national flower of Malaysia is the bunga raya.''

Maldives

The national flower of the Maldives is the pink polyantha rose called fiyaathoshi finifenmaa.

Myanmar

The Philippines adopted the sampaguita in 1934 as its national flower because it symbolises purity and cleanliness due to its colour and sweet smell. It is popularly strung into garlands that are presented to visitors and dignitaries, and is a common offering to religious images.

Singapore

Sri Lanka – Nil mānel, blue-star water-lily. Although nil means ‘blue’ in Sinhala, the Sinhalese name of this plant is often rendered as "water-lily" in English.
This beautiful aquatic flower appears in the Sigiriya frescoes and has been mentioned in ancient Sanskrit, Pali and Sinhala literary works. Buddhist lore in Sri Lanka claims that this flower was one of the 108 auspicious signs found on Prince Siddhartha's footprint.

Taiwan

The national flower was officially designated as the plum blossom by the Executive Yuan of the Republic of China on 21 July 1964. The plum blossom, known as the meihua, is symbol for resilience and perseverance in the face of adversity, because plum trees often bloom most vibrantly even during the harshest winters. The triple grouping of stamens represents Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Three Principles of the People, while the five petals symbolize the five branches of the government.

Thailand

The national flower for Thailand is Golden Shower Tree, locally known as dok khuen or rachapruek.

Europe

Austria

Switzerland

United Kingdom

Antigua and Barbuda

The national flower of Antigua and Barbuda is Agave karatto, also known as ‘dagger log’ or ‘batta log’.

The Bahamas

The national flower of the Bahamas is the Yellow Elder.

Barbados

The national flower of Barbados is the known locally as the Pride of Barbados.

Belize

The national flower of Belize is the Black Orchid

Canada

The maple leaf is widely used as a symbol for Canada. The maple tree was officially recognized as Canada's arboreal emblem in 1996.
The official Provincial and Territorial floral emblems are:
Many Canadian flags and coat of arms have floral emblems on them. The flag of Montreal has four floral emblems. On the right side of the flag of Saskatchewan overlapping both green and gold halves is the western red lily, the provincial floral emblem. The coat of arms of Port Coquitlam has the City's floral emblem, the azalea displayed on a collar. The coat of arms of Prince Edward Island displays Lady's Slippers, the floral emblem of the Island. The coat of arms of Nova Scotia has the trailing arbutus or mayflower, the floral emblem of Nova Scotia, added when the arms were reassumed in 1929.

Costa Rica

The national flower of Costa Rica is the guaria morada .

Dominica

The national flower of Dominica is Sabinea carinalis, commonly known as Carib Wood or Bois Caraibe.

Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic's national flower was the flower of the caoba. In 2011, the mahogany was dubbed the national tree, vacating the national flower spot for the Bayahibe rose in order to bring attention to its conservation.

Guatemala

The national flower of Guatemala is the monja blanca.

Haiti

The national flower of Honduras is the orchid Rhyncolaelia digbyana.

Jamaica

The national flower of Jamaica is the lignum vitae.

Mexico

The national flower of Mexico is the dahlia.

United States

In 1986 President Ronald Reagan signed legislation to make the rose the floral emblem of the United States. In the United States, state flowers and trees have been adopted as symbols by state legislatures.

Oceania

Australia

The Acacia pycnantha was officially proclaimed the floral emblem of Australia on 1 September 1988.

French Polynesia

The Tahitian gardenia is the national flower of Tahiti, French Polynesia and the Cook Islands.

Fiji

The national flower is tagimaucia, a vine with red and white flowers endemic to the highlands of the island of Taveuni.

New Zealand

New Zealand does not have an official national flower, but the Silver Fern is acknowledged as its national emblem. The Kowhai is usually regarded as the national flower. Other plant emblems are: Koru and the crimson-flowered Pohutukawa, also called New Zealand's Christmas tree.

Tonga

The heilala is Tonga's national flower. The name of Tonga's beauty pageant, the Heilala Festival, is taken from this flower. Resorts, as well as products, are also often named after this flower, such as the Heilala Lodge and Heilala Vanilla. The flower is also used in Tonga for medicinal and ornamental purposes.

South America

Argentina

The national flower of Argentina is the flower of the ceibo tree , also known as seibo or bucaré

Bolivia

Bolivian national flowers are the kantuta and patujú.

Brazil

The national flower of Brazil is the flower of the Golden Trumpet Tree.

Chile

Colombia

Cattleya trianae is the national flower of Colombia and is the orchid which flowers in May. The May flower was chosen because the colors are the same as those of the Colombian flag.

Guyana

The national flower of Peru is the cantuta. It can be found at the high valleys of the Andean territory, in Peru and Bolivia.

Paraguay

Called faya lobi in Sranantongo, the ixora coccinea is a commonly considered a symbol of Suriname.

Uruguay

'', Venezuela.

Venezuela

CountrySubdivisionNamePicturesNotes
AlbertaWild Rose
British ColumbiaPacific Dogwood
ManitobaPrairie Crocus
New BrunswickPurple Violet
Newfoundland and LabradorPitcher plantThe pitcher plant was officially declared as the provincial flower in 1954, but had appeared on the colony's coinage as early as the 1880s. It can be found in the marshlands of the province feeding on insects that fall into its leaves and drown.
Northwest TerritoriesMountain Avens
Nova ScotiaMayflower
NunavutPurple Saxifrage
OntarioWhite Trillium
Prince Edward IslandPink Lady's Slipper
QuebecBlue Flag IrisThe Blue Flag Iris replaced the Madonna Lily in 1999, since the lily was not native to Quebec.
SaskatchewanWestern Red Lily
YukonFireweed
SmålandLinnaea borealisThe Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus, sw. Carl von Linné, often called the father of taxonomy or "The flower-king", was born in Älmhult in Småland. He gave the Twinflower its Latin name based on his own, because of his particular fondness of it. The flower has become Småland's provincial flower.
Bauhinia blakeanaThe blossom, native to the territory was chosen as the logo of the Urban Council in 1965 and was later incorporated into the flag and emblem of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China after the 1997 transfer of sovereignty.
Nelumbo nuciferaA stylised depiction of the flower can be seen in the territory's flag.
County OffalyBog-rosemary
Islamabad Capital TerritoryPaper mulberry
Rose
The floral emblems of the four constituting provinces of Pakistan; however, they are all unofficial and are not recognised by the new Federal Government of Pakistan.
BalochistanDate palm
Tulipa sylvestris
The floral emblems of the four constituting provinces of Pakistan; however, they are all unofficial and are not recognised by the new Federal Government of Pakistan.
Khyber PakhtunkhwaAfghan pine
Tulipa clusiana
The floral emblems of the four constituting provinces of Pakistan; however, they are all unofficial and are not recognised by the new Federal Government of Pakistan.
The PunjabTamarix aphylla
Datura metel
The floral emblems of the four constituting provinces of Pakistan; however, they are all unofficial and are not recognised by the new Federal Government of Pakistan.
SindhVachellia nilotica
Nerium
The floral emblems of the four constituting provinces of Pakistan; however, they are all unofficial and are not recognised by the new Federal Government of Pakistan.
Gilgit–BaltistanQuercus ilex
Aquilegia
The floral emblems of the four constituting provinces of Pakistan; however, they are all unofficial and are not recognised by the new Federal Government of Pakistan.
Azad Jammu and KashmirPlatanus orientalis
Rhododendron ponticum
The floral emblems of the four constituting provinces of Pakistan; however, they are all unofficial and are not recognised by the new Federal Government of Pakistan.
CataloniaWeaver's Broom
Usually along with red poppies
GaliciaGorse flower

Australia

Each of the four countries of the United Kingdom has a traditional floral emblem.
A county flower is a flowering plant chosen to symbolise a county. They exist primarily in the United Kingdom, but some counties in other countries also have them.
One or two county flowers have a long history in England – the red rose of Lancashire dates from the Middle Ages, for instance. However, the county flower concept was only extended to cover the whole United Kingdom in 2002, as a promotional tool by a charity. In that year, the plant conservation charity Plantlife ran a competition to choose county flowers for all counties, to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.
Plantlife's scheme is loosely based on Britain's historic counties, and so some current local government areas are not represented by a flower, and some of the counties included no longer exist as administrative areas. Flowers were also chosen for thirteen major cities: Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne, Nottingham and Sheffield. The Isles of Scilly was also treated as a county for the purpose of the scheme. The Isle of Man was included, even though it is not a county, but a self-governing territory outside of the United Kingdom with an existing national flower: the ragwort or cushag. The Channel Islands were not included.
A total of 94 flowers was chosen in the competition. 85 of the 109 counties have a unique county flower, but several species were chosen by more than one county. Foxglove or Digitalis purpurea was chosen for four counties – Argyll, Birmingham, Leicestershire and Monmouthshire – more than any other species. The following species were chosen for three counties each:
And the following species were chosen for two counties:
In addition, Sticky Catchfly Lychnis viscaria was chosen for both Edinburgh and Midlothian, the county containing Edinburgh.
For most counties, native species were chosen, but for a small number of counties, non-natives were chosen, mainly archaeophytes. For example, Hampshire has a Tudor rose as its county flower, even though it is not a native species.

Unofficial flowers

Armenia

No plant or flower seems to be among the current official symbols. Some flowering plants from the area include Althaea armeniaca, Armenian Basket, Muscari armeniacum, Armenian Poppy, Armenian vartig, and Tulipa armena.

Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan currently has no official national flower. Traditionally, various regions have different designations where national symbols are concerned. The city of Shusha named the Khari Bulbul the floral emblem of the Nagorno-Karabakh.

China

China currently has no official national flower. Traditionally, various regions have different designations where national symbols are concerned.
In 1903, the Qing Dynasty named the peony the floral emblem of the nation. The peony has long been considered a flower of wealth and honor in China.
The puppet state Manchukuo followed Japan's model of dual floral emblems: the "spring orchid" for the Emperor and the imperial household, and the sorghum blossom for the state and the nation.
The plum blossom, meihua, has also been one of the most beloved flowers in Chinese culture. The Republic of China government named the plum blossom as the national flower in 1964. The plum blossom is symbol for resilience and perseverance in the face of adversity, because plum blossoms often bloom most vibrantly even amidst the harsh winter snow.
The People's Republic of China, which has controlled mainland China since 1949, has no official floral emblem. There have been several petitions in recent years to officially adopt one. However, the government has not taken any action yet. A poll in 2005 showed that 41% of the public supports peony as the national flower while 36% supported the plum blossom. Some scholars have suggested that the peony and plum blossoms may be designated as dual national flowers. In addition, the orchid, jasmine, daffodil and chrysanthemum have also been held as possible floral symbols of China.

Ecuador

No flower has been officially declared as a national symbol. Unofficially the rose and the orchid are claimed to hold that title.

Egypt

Both Blue Egyptian Lotus and White Egyptian Lotus are regarded as Egypt's national flowers, and they appear in many Ancient Egyptian paintings and monuments.

Guinea

In a 2018 public vote Vernonia djalonensis was voted as the national flower of Guinea, a decision which is currently awaiting government approval

Japan

Japan's national government has never formally named a national flower, as with other symbols such as the green pheasant, which was named as national bird by a non-government body in 1947. In 1999, the national flag and anthem were standardised by law.
A de facto national flower for Japan for many is the sakura, while a stylised depiction of a Chrysanthemum morifolium is used as the official emblem of the imperial family. The Paulownia blossom was also used by the imperial family in the past, but has since been appropriated by the Prime Minister and the government in general.

Netherlands

While the Netherlands does not have an official national flower, the tulip is widely considered to be its national flower.

Vietnam

While Vietnam does not have an official flower, four plants are traditional regarded as the four graceful plants, namely: the lotus, the pine, bamboo, and the chrysanthemum. The lotus is generally regarded as the unofficial national flower of Vietnam, as portrayed, for example, on their postage stamps. In Vietnamese tradition, the lotus is regarded as the symbol of purity, commitment and optimism for the future.