Culturally significant, unique or just cool plants:
- Heartsease: Also known as Love-in-Idleness and Johnny-Jump-Up, among many other names, heartsease is a wild pansy which, according to Roman myth, was accidentally struck by cupids arrow, granting it a juice which can cause people to fall in love and were used in love potions. This was later popularized by William Shakespeare in A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Hellebore: This plant is fairly poisonous and has been used in early witchcraft and was believed to have links to summoning demons. It was also believed to be used as a biological weapon instrumental in the Seige of Kirrha of ancient times.
Columbine: Less commonly known as Granny's Bonnet or Aquilegia. While Native Americans used the flowers of this plant as a condiment and the root as a treatment for ulcers, columbine is actually highly toxic, causing severe diarrhea and heart palpitations which can lead to death. In Shakespeare's Hamlet, Columbine was used as a symbol of desertion.
Papyrus: Not only a source of writing material for the Egyptians, the flower for this reed was commonly depicted in Egyptian art and architecture. It was used in Egyptian heraldry and was a symbol of life. According to some, columns of papyrus were believed to hold up the sky.
Marigold: This flower is used in teas, spices and food dyes around the world and was considered a flower of the dead in pre-Hispanic Mexico. Some gardeners use marigolds to ward off pests.
Mistletoe: A parasitic plant which grows in trees, mistletoe was sometimes believed to be a tree's soul, or at least a crystallization of its power. The druids considered it sacred and no fighting was permitted where mistletoe was hung. Mistletoe was the only plant which did not promise not to hurt the Norse god Baldur, and was eventually what killed him. And, of course, there's Christmas mistletoe.
Holly: A deciduous evergreen with spiky leaves and bright red berries, it was considered to be the Winter King, ruling half the year while the Oak ruled the summer. Holly was also considered sacred to druids.
Elder (Elderberry/Elderflower): The spirit of this bush was considered very powerful and many in Europe and even post-Colonial America planted elder bushes on their properties to protect a home. The spirit of the bush was considered to be very vengeful if it were ever chopped down, however, and special rituals had to be undertaken if you wanted to get rid of it!
Hydrangea: Hydrangeas are one of nature's litmus tests! Many bushes will bloom blue if the soil they are growing in is basic, but red or pink if the soil is acidic. Sometimes, if the soil's pH is balanced just right, they can even bloom a brilliant purple!
Tulip: Originally from the Ottoman Empire (where they acquired their name, sharing an etymological root with “turban”), they were popularized by Dutch merchants worldwide, now becoming a cultural symbol of the Netherlands and their mercantile history.
Pansy: Pansies symbolized thoughtfulness, which is how they got their name (sharing an etymological root with “pensive”). Sometimes they are considered the same as violets and violas, though in modern times the term "pansy" specifically refers to the larger, cultivated flowers, where viola and violet refer to the smaller ones.
Violet: Known for their wonderful aroma and color, violets have been used as food, candies, alcohol and perfume (though the aroma is generally less popular nowadays). In ancient Rome, violets were considered a funerary flower and were used to decorate graves, particularly during the Violaria (a festival similar to the Rosalia, but with violets instead of roses). In modern culture, violets are anthropomorphized as a bashful flower and use of it is often meant to allude to a shy personality.
Titan Arum and Rafflesia: Both of these flowers are considered the largest flowers in the world. Both also smell horrible!
Jasmine: Renowned for its sweet smell, many cultures use(d) the flower as a name for girls.
Lilac: Another flower known for its aroma, lilacs are sometimes used in folk traditions as a way to predict how late spring will be. Purple lilacs are used to symbolize love in various cultures and white lilacs are used to symbolize youthful innocence. In other traditions, lilacs (especially the white ones) are considered a funerary flower. Some even consider it unlucky to bring lilacs indoors (particularly to a home or hospital) or that its aroma might attract malevolent faeries.
Gladiolus: This flower is so named because it grows in a spike shaped like a sword (specifically, the Roman gladius).
Prickly Pear: Used as a food by some Native Americans. There was even a kachina (a sort of deity) of this particular cactus.
Chamomile/Camomile: This daisy-like plant is commonly used in tea as a remedy for anxiety and insomnia
Waratah: This flower features in Australian aboriginal folklore and Australian art and is generally considered a symbol of Australian heritage. Due to being one of the first plants to grow after a fire, it is also seen as a symbol of regeneration, healing and strength.
Honeysuckle: A symbol of love, unity and generosity, it is also believed to have been the origin of one of the motifs commonly used in ancient Greek art.
Poppy: Poppies were sacred to several deities, including the Greek deities Hypnos, Pasithea and Nyx as well as an unnamed Poppy Goddess of the Minoans. It is also the source of opiates. In many modern cultures, it is used as a symbol of wartime remembrance.
Marsh Mallow: This flower is what supplied the sap used to make the first marshmallows. The plant was first used by Egyptians as a remedy for sore throats.
Indigo: This flowering plant was used to make blue and purple dyes. Some species are also used to alleviate pain.
Dandelions: One of the most recognizeable and prolific wild plants in the world. It is considered a weed by some cultures, a salad green by others.
Thistle: A Scottish legend states that this plant helped protect the nation. The artichoke is one type of thistle. Another type of thistle is used to make the cultures used in some cheeses.
Clover: A symbol of luck or the Christian Trinity, depending on the number of leaves.
Sundew: A carnivorous plant with hairs tipped in sticky digestive juices which will bend down toward an insect crawling on its leaves to pin down and devour it!
Venus Flytrap: Another carnivorous plant with leaves designed to fold closed to drap and eat its prey.
Pitcher Plant: A more passive carnivorous plant with leaves shaped like pitchers filled with digestive juices and rainwater. Insects would get trapped in the leaves and get eaten by the plant.
Osage Orange: More closely related to the mulberry than the orange, the osage orange is unique in that its large, fleshy fruits are largely ignored by animals. The entire tree tends to be free of insect infestations and fungal infections. Traditionally, the fruit would be kept in a home as a spider repellant. Recent studies have discovered chemicals present in the plant and fruit to be highly effective in repelling a variety of pests.
Sandalwood: This aromatic wood is commonly used for its fragrance in perfumes and incense. Sandalwood paste is used in Hindu ceremonies and the wood is also significant in Zoroastrianism.
Foxglove: A flowering plant used to produce some heart medications, but is also considered deadly poisonous! It is also a symbol of protection.
Narcissus/Daffodil: A symbol of wealth, good fortune, vanity and unrequited love, the narcissus was considered sacred to the god Hades. It is highly toxic, containing lycorine.
Mimosa: Two notable varieties of mimosa exist. One is capable of folding its leaves together rapidly when touched, the other contains psychotropic chemicals in its roots.
Peony: A myth states that the peony was created when the Greek god of healing and medicine became jealous of his skilled student. To save the student, Zeus turned him into a peony. Peonies are also known for always being COVERED IN ANTS which are attracted by the flower's nectar. In both China and Japan, it is sometimes known as the king of flowers.
Strawberry: A symbol of love and perfect righteousness, as well as a common fruit. While not entirely unique in this regard, it can reproduce by seed or by producing above-ground “runners”, which will later grow new roots.
Persimmon: In Korean folklore, tigers are afraid of dried persimmons, due to a comical misunderstanding. Recently, persimmons have become a symbol of survival due to the survival of one persimmon tree near the epicenter of the Nagasaki atomic bomb blast.
Spider Lily (Lycoris): In both China and Japan, these flowers are often associated with cemetaries and Hell.
Onion: They make you cry! Also, according to Wikipedia, the ancient Egyptians worshiped onions.
Garlic: Though commonly used in food, garlic was considered in some cultures to be able to protect from evil, black magic, curses, demons, werewolves and vampires.
Iris: An ornamental flower prized for its beauty and aromatic qualities, the iris is the origin of the fleur-de-lis, a common symbol in European heraldry often associated with France.
Hyacinth: This flower was named after a tragic youth of mythology loved by Apollo and the West Wind.
Buttercup: A meadow flower, the buttercup contains a toxin which can sometimes cause blistering in the mouth when eaten or dermatitis when handled.
Scarlet Pimpernel: Scarlet pimpernel is most well known as the emblem of the hero of Baroness Emma Orczy's Scarlet Pimpernel books. This petite red flower is known for blooming only when the sun shines and closing again when the sky darkens, earning it the name "poor man's weather glass".
Azalea: The azalea and its close relative the rhododendron are both highly toxic and at one time, receiving a bouquet of either flower in a black vase was considered a death threat. Rhododendron honey was known by the ancient Greeks to cause hallucinations, diarrhea and death. One species of azalea is considered edible and is sometimes used in a traditional Korean snack called hwajeon.
Snowdrop: Contains chemicals useful in counteracting some poisons and in the treatment of altzheimer's disease.
Lily of the Valley: Sacred to the goddess Ostara, the lily of the valley symbolizes life, spring, humility and purity. Various legends state that it grew from the tears of the Virgin Mary, the tears of Eve or the blood of St. Leonard of Noblac. It is considered highly toxic, containing many poisonous compounds including at least one which actively deters competing vegetation by poisoning the earth.
Lemon: Lemons are common in culinary use and cleaners. They symbolize friendship and cleanliness.
Orange: Almost every part of the orange tree has some sort of culinary use.
Ebony: Notable for its dense black wood, ebony has been used at least as far back as ancient Egypt as a material for sculpture and ornamental furniture. Over time, it has become closely associated with its use in crafting musical instruments.
Chinese Bellflower: Sometimes known as the Balloonflower. The shape of the flower has been considered reminiscent of the pentagram and is symbolic of the five Taoist elements, protection and reuniting with old friends.
Cotton: So incredulous were some Medieval peoples that its wooly fibers had vegetable origins, some people believed sheep grew off of the plant!
Flax: One of the first fiber crops, flax is used in the creation of linen.
Mint: Menthol, a chemical commonly found in most species of mint, is sometimes considered the opposite to capsaicin (found in chili peppers) because it triggers the cold-sensitive receptors in the skin.
Cattail/Bulrush: The cattail or bulrush is an iconic wetland reed. Like papyrus, this reed can be used as paper. Its downy material has been used by some birds to line nests and some Native Americans to line moccasins and bedding. Other uses include fuel, medicine, food and building materials.
Marvel of Peru:
Also known as "Four O'Clock", due to the time of day it tends to bloom. While the grenade-shaped seeds of this flower are considered poisonous, the flowers have been used in edible food dyes. The seeds have also been used in cosmetics.
Dayflower: Specifically the Asiatic dayflower, the bright blue petals of this plant were used to make blue dyes in both China and Japan. The dye was very poor, however, and was replaced when better dyes were introduced to the regions. Asiatic dayflowers are also used as food. The flowers and greens are both edible and the seeds are ground up to make a powder used in some Japanese cooking.
Delphinium: Sometimes known as larkspur, delphinium is considered highly toxic, but has been used in herbal medicine for centuries as a cure for a number of ailments. Notably, it was connected to the patron saint of good eyesight, St. Odile of Alsace, and was used as an herbal medication for eye diseases.
Monkshood: Monkshood sometimes goes by the names aconite and wolfsbane, among many others. It has been a known poison featuring as far back as Greek myth which has resulted in its use as a symbol of treachery. Even so, monkshood also has a reputation as a medicinal plant in many cultures.
Mandrake: It was once believed that the root of the mandrake plant would scream when pulled up, causing the person who pulled it up (or those who hear it) to die (or be condemned to hell). Its association with herbal medication and herbal magic caused it to be one of the plants most highly associated with witchcraft.
Cannabis: Cannabis, pot, marijuana, hemp. Cannabis is most commonly known for its use as an illegalized recreational drug. It has also been traditionally used as a fiber crop (hemp) and a medicinal herb.
Tobacco: Cultivated as far back as 1400 BCE in the Americas, tobacco was used as a recreational drug and sharing tobacco could have been a sign of peace, friendship, an oath or many other things. Tobacco was used ceremonially and sometimes as a prayer. Tobacco was often associated with masculinity in both eastern and western cultures. When paired with femininity, it became associated with promiscuity. When tobacco was discovered to be highly carcinogenic in the 20th century, cultural views shifted to associate the plant with rebelliousness and death.
Myrrh: Myrrh is a thorny plant that has been used for food, medicine and fragrance. As one of the traditional gifts of the Biblical magi, myrrh is associated with embalming and a symbol of death. Myrrh was also a highly treasured resource, sometimes rivaling precious gems and metals. Perfumes and incenses made with myrrh were very expensive.
Yucca: Yuccas have been used as an ornamental plant as well as food. In addition, their sharp, sturdy leaves have been used as makeshift meat-hooks.
Catnip: Known for its curious effects on most felines, catnip is also used as an insect repellant and an herbal medicine.
Anemone: Also known as windflower. One myth claims anemones first grew from the blood spilled from the dying Adonis's wounds (Adonis was a human-turned-god of beauty, desire, vegetation and the life-death-rebirth cycle).
Inkberry/Pokeweed: Though every part of the pokeweed plant contains toxins, it has been used as a food source and in folk medicine. In addition, the berries have been used for ink and dye.
Cornflower: The cornflower was also known as bachelor button, due to folklore which claimed that if the flower faded too quickly when worn by a young man in love, it signified that their love was unrequited. It is also seen as a symbol of Prussia, Germany and inspiration. Like poppies, it can also symbolize war veterans (particularly in France). Cornflower is edible and has been used in tea blends, most notably Lady Grey tea. It has also been used in herbal medicine for eye infections.
Periwinkle: Both the species Vinca minor and Vinca major are known by this name and are typically only differentiated by size. This flower is commonly used as a ground cover and is incredibly difficult to get rid of because its waxy leaves keep the plant from absorbing most chemical herbicides. Additionally, the plant contains a chemical which helps aid brain function and thought clarity.
Dahlia: Originally from Mexico, most of the original names for the dahlia referred to its hollow stem which was used as a water pipe. Other early uses for dahlias included food and a folk remedy for epilepsy. Dahlia symbolism is incredibly varied, ranging from betrayal and warning to lifelong commitments, elegance and travel.
I'm going to try to stop now, because this list could just go on forever....
