FLOWER

S WITH
A
HISTOR

Aflower, sometimes
known as a bloom or
blossom, is the
reproductive
structure found in
floweringplants
(plants of the division
Magnoliophyta, also
called angiosperms).

SCIENTISTS SAY
THERE ARE OVER
270,000 SPECIES OF
FLOWERS THAT HAVE
BEEN DOCUMENTED
AND ARE LIVING IN
THE
21STCENTURY.BUT
SCIENTISTS HAVE YET
TO ANSWER BASIC
QUESTIONS ABOUT
THESE MARVELS OF
BEAUTY..

WHAT LED TO THEIR

AMAZING DIVERSITY?

Are there flowers that

have not changed
much during the
evolution of this
planet?

MAGNOLIA
FLOWER

The first plant fossils found were

woody magnolia-like plants dating
back 93 million years.
Paleobotanists have more recently
uncovered tiny herb-like flower
fossils dating back 120 million
years. Flowering plants, called
angiosperms by scientists, were
believed to be already diverse and
found in most locations by the
middle of the Cretaceous period
146 million years ago. A myriad of
images of preserved flowers and
flower parts have been found in
fossils located in Sweden,
Portugal, England, and along the
Eastern and Gulf coasts of the
United States..

HISTORIES OF
SOME OF TODAYS
BEST LOVED
FLOWERS.

ALSTROEMERIA
ALSTROEMERIA IS NAMED
AFTER THE SWEDISH
BOTANIST BARON KLAS
VON ALSTROEMER. THIS
SOUTH AMERICAN
FLOWER'S SEEDS WERE
AMONG MANY COLLECTED
BY VON ALSTROEMER ON
A TRIP TO SPAIN IN 1753.

Aster

There are over 600 species of aster,

the most popular being the Monte
Casino. Ancient people believed that
the odor of its leaves, when burnt,
drove away serpents. The English gave
this flower two
names,astersandstarworts. Aster is
Latin forstar, and referred to its starlike shape. Wort meantroot, which
signified plants with healing
properties. And Asters were laid on the
graves of French soldiers to symbolize
the wish that things had turned out
differently.

CALENDULA
The calendula's genus
name,wor calendae,
meansthroughout the
months. Like sunflowers,
Calendula's flower heads
follows the sun.

THE CALENDULA IS A
MEMBER OF THE
MARIGOLD FAMILY, AND
WAS TRADITIONALLY
VALUED AS AN HERB,
RATHER THAN ITS BRIGHT
YELLOW BLOSSOMS. THE
ROMANS USED
CALENDULA MIXED WITH
VINEGAR TO SEASON
THEIR MEAT AND SALAD
DISHES.
Calendula blossoms in wine
were purported to soothe
indigestion, and the petals
were used in ointments that
cured skin irritations, jaundice,
sore eyes, and toothaches.

VERY EARLY CHRISTIANS CALLED

THIS FLOWERMARY'S GOLD, AND
PLACED IT BY THE STATUES OF THE
VIRGIN MARY. AGAIN ASSOCIATED
WITH RELIGION AND HEALING,
Calendula is the most sacred
flower of ancient India its flower
heads were used to make
garlands, which adorned holy
statues.

Carnation

Carnations have been cultivated for the last 2,000 years, and they
hail from the Near East. It is said that the name, Carnation, comes
from Greececarnis(flesh) refers to the original color of the flower,
or perhaps the wordincarnacyon(incarnation), which refers to the
incarnation of God made flesh.
Another possibility Carnationcould come from "coronation" or
"corone" (flower garlands), as it was one of the flowers used in
Greek ceremonial crowns. This popular flower was also
calleddianthusby the Greek botanist Theopharastus.

Chrysanthemu
ms
This popular perennial's name is
derived from the Greek chrysos (gold)
and anthos (flower). In Italy
chrysanthemums are associated with
death, so dont give an Italian girl
friend a bouquet of chrysanthemums!
chrysanthemums had been cultivated in
Chinese gardens for more than 2,500 years
before they were first exhibited in England in
1795. The ancient Chinese named the
Chrysanthemum ("chu hua"), to be their official
Flower for October, and also the official badge
of the Old Chinese Army..
Even today, the chrysanthemum is a symbol of
the sun, and the orderly unfolding of the mum's
petals denotes perfection. One of their
traditions is to put a single chrysanthemum
petal on bottom of a wine glass to sustain a
long and healthy life.

DAISY

This flowers English name wasday's

eye, referring to the way this flower
opens and closes with the sun. And
primitive medical men drew the
obvious conclusion that it was plainly
intended to cure eye troubles.
Assyrians crushed daisies and mixed
them with oil to turn gray hair dark
again.
According to an old Celtic legend,
the spirits of children who died in
childbirth scattered daisies on
the earth to cheer their
sorrowing parents.

DAHLIA

Dahlias were late in

coming to Europe.
European scientific
specialists considered the
dahlia as a possible source
of food since a disease had
destroyed the French
potato crop in the 1840s.
But the beauty of the
dahlia far surpassed its
taste.

DELPHINIUM

Delphinium is from the Greek

worddelphis, meaningdolphin
the flower resembles the bottlelike nose of a dolphin.

Delphiniums were used by West

Coast Native Americans to make
blue dye, and European settlers
made ink from ground
delphinium flowers. The most
ancient use of Delphinium
flowers was a strong external
concoction thought to drive
away scorpions.

GLADIOL
US

The Latin wordgladius, meaning "sword,"

and this flower was named for the shape
of its leaves. Gladiolus was also called
"xiphium," from the Greek wordxiphos,
also meaning sword. This flower is said to
have represented the Roman gladiators.

British Gladiolus used the stem base

(corms) as a poultice and for drawing out
thorns and splinters. A mixture of
powdered corms and goat's milk was a
favorite remedy for colic. In the
18thCentury, African Gladioli were
imported in large quantities to Europe
from South Africa.

HOLLY
Medieval

monks called this plant

theHoly Tree. They believed Holly
would keep evil spirits away, and
protect their home from lightening.
The early Romans decorated their
hallways with garlands made from
Holly for their mid-winter feast,
Saturnalia.
Later

its pointed leaves

represented the crown of thorns
worn by Jesus, and the red berries
his drops of blood. Holly signified
eternal life, and also represented
the biblical burning bush in the Old
Testament, when God appeared
before Moses.

LILY
Lilies have been associated with
many ancient myths, and pictures of
lilies were discovered in a villa in
Crete, dating back to the Minoan
Period, about 1580 B.C.

Lilies are mentioned in the Old

Testament, and in the New Testament,
they symbolize chastity and virtue. In
both the Christian and pagan
traditions, the lily is a fertility symbol.
In Greek marriage ceremonies the
bride wears a crown of lilies and
wheat purity and abundance. Lilies
are also a symbol of death, and at one
time lilies were placed on the graves of
children.

Rose

200
million
years!
The legends take root Cloris,
goddess of flowers, crowned the rose
as queen of the flowers. Aphrodite
presented a rose to her son Eros, god
of love. The rose became a symbol of
love and desire.
the rose also became the emblem of silence
and secrecy. In the middle ages a rose was
suspended from the ceiling of a council
chamber, pledging all present to secrecy, or
sub Rosa, "under the rose".

The

first cultivated roses appeared in Asian

gardens more than 5,000 years ago. In ancient
Mesopotamia, Sargon I, King of the Akkadians
(2684-2630 B.C.) brought "vines, figs and rose
trees" back from a military expedition beyond
the River Tigris

Roses were introduced to Rome by

the Greeks. During feasts young men
and women in Athens adorned a
crown of roses and danced naked
around the temple of Hymen to
symbolize the innocence of the
ROSES
GoldenWERE
Age.INTRODUCED TO EUROPE

DURING THE ROMAN EMPIRE, WHERE THEY

WERE MAINLY USED FOR ORNAMENTAL
PURPOSES. EARLY CHRISTIANS SAW THE ROSE
AS A SYMBOL OF PAGANISM, ORGY, AND LUST.
TERTULLIAN WROTE AN ENTIRE VOLUME
AGAINST THE FLOWER AND ABOUT 202 A.D.,
AND CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRA FORBADE
CHRISTIANS TO ADORN THEMSELVES WITH
ROSES. SLOWLY THE CHURCH ABSORBED SOME
ASPECTS OF PAGANISM BY CHANGING THEM
INTO CHRISTIAN. IN CATHOLIC LITANIES, THE
VIRGIN MARY IS CALLED "ROSA MYSTICA"

The

rose
became an
important
heraldic symbol.
During the "War
of the Roses,"
the House of York
was symbolized
by a white rose,
the House of
Lancaster by a
red rose.

ORCHID
Orchidoriginates from Greece,
whereorchis, meanstesticle.
Some orchids are
calledladies'fingers,ladies'tresse
s, orlongpurples. Greek women
thought that if the father of their
unborn child ate large, new
tubers, the baby would be a boy. If
the mother ate small tubers, they
would give birth to a baby girl.

POINSETTIA
Dr.

Joel Roberts-Poinsett, the US

Ambassador to Mexico, brought the
first poinsettia to the United States
in 1928. Poinsettias are known to
grow as high as sixteen feet In
Mexico. The scarlet color of the
original Poinsettias is produced by
its bracts the leaf-like sections
that grow before the flower appears.
The Poinsettia is a member of
theeuphobia, orspurgefamily.
The name originates from the
Old Frenchespurg.This plant was
used during the Medieval times
as a purgative to rid the body of
black bile and melancholy.

QUEEN ANNE'S LACE

Queen Anne's Lace was

named for Queen Anne, wife
of King James I of England. The
Queen's friends challenged
her to create lace as beautiful
as the flower.
The root of Queen Anne's
Lace, also called "wild carrot,"
stimulates pigment production
in human beings. North African
natives chewed it to protect
themselves from the sun.

SNAPDRAGONS

Some

botanists believe
they grew wild in Spain
and Italy. In the British
countryside, children
would gently squeeze
the sides of the flower to
open and close the
"dragon's" mouth.

SUNFLOWER

They

originated in Central and South

America, and were grown for their
usefulness, not their beauty. In 1532
Francisco Pizarro reported seeing the
natives of the Inca Empire in Peru
worshipping a giant sunflower. Incan
priestesses wore large sunflower disks
made of gold on their garments.
In

China they symbolized longevity. In the

Andes Mountains, golden images of
sunflowers were found in temples. And
North America Indians in the prairies
placed bowls of sunflower seeds on the
graves of their dead.

TULI
P

The

word tulip is thought to be a corruption

of the Turkish word for turbans. Persian poets
sang its praises, and their artists drew and
painted it so often, that all of Europe

Violet

When Napoleon married

Josephine, she wore violets, and
on each anniversary Josephine
received a bouquet of violets.
Following Napoleons lead, the
French Bonapartists chose the
violet as their emblem, and
nicknamed Napoleon "Corporal
Violet".
In 1814, Napoleon asked to
visit Josephine's tomb before
being exiled to the Island of St.
Helena. When he died, he wore
a locket around his neck that
contained violets he had picked
from Josephines gravesite.

THE
END.