Through the ages, flowers have served as symbols and emblems. Many nations and countries have adopted flowers as their emblems. Thus, Ireland has its shamrock, France has its fleur de lis. Such national flowers are often associated with history, traditions or legends. The United States has no national flower, but each of its states and […]

ASTER is a flowering plant of the Compositae family. It is so common in the United States that it has been suggested as the national flower. More than 175 species grow in North America. The flower also grows in parts of Europe, Asia, and South America. Toward the last of August and throughout September and […]

ANNUAL Plants that grow from seed, blossom, produce fruits and seeds, and die (root and all) within one year are called annuals. Only their seeds live on, to produce new plants in future years. Most annuals live their whole life during one spring-to-fall growing season. Some, called winter annuals, begin to grow in autumn, live […]

Narcissus. A large genus of flowers of the amaryllis family, native to Asia and Europe, is called narcissus. Included are the daffodil, the poet’s narcissus, the jonquil, and others. All the species produce bulbs, from which the long, narrow leaves arise. These usually appear with the blooms. The flowers are white to yellow, seldom green, […]

Sorrel. The prettier of the two groups of plants that are called sorrel is the little wood sorrel, or sour grass. It grows in shady woods, in lawns, and gardens throughout the Northern Hemisphere. It has dainty white or yellow flowers. Sometimes it is cultivated for its pleasantly acid, clover like leaves. These are used […]

Pussy willow is a shrub or small tree of the willow family. It grows wild in the eastern part of North America from Nova Scotia south to Virginia and west to Missouri. Pussy willows grow best in moist places, but they also can be found on dry soils. They seldom grow taller than 20 feet […]

Mistletoe is a plant that grows as a parasite on the trunks and branches of various trees. The American mistletoe and the European mistletoe grow most often on apple trees. They also may grow on other trees, such as the lime, hawthorn, sycamore, poplar, locust, fir, and occasionally on oak. The dwarf mistletoe is a […]

Ginseng is a perennial herb of eastern Asia and eastern North America. It is a low plant with three to five leaves on top. Each leaf consists of five leaflets. Ginseng has a long, fleshy root whose shape somewhat resembles that of a human body. The plant’s name comes from Chinese words meaning likeness of […]

Sunflower is a tall plant known for its showy yellow flowers. There are more than 60 species of sunflowers. The most common type grows from 3 to 10 feet (1 to 3 meters) tall and has one or more heads of flowers. Each head consists of a disk of small, tubular flowers surrounded by a […]

GENTIAN is any of about 400 species of herbs that make up the genus Gentiana. These plants are supposed to have been named after Gentius, long of ancient Illyria. When the king was ill the root of a yellow wild flower was brought to him. He drank the bitter juices of the root and was […]

CANNA (kan’a). When the tropical plants from which modern garden have been developed was taken to the United States in 1830, its large dark-green and bronze leaves were the most attractive part of it. The same thing was true of its early descendants, which were principally valued as foliage plants. After that time, however, plant […]

Snowball, also called European cranberry bush or Guelder rose, is a handsome shrub of the honeysuckle family. It produces large, ball-shaped white flowers that grow in clusters. The plant is… Snapdragon, a favorite flower in gardens of Europe and North America. Millions are also grown in greenhouses for cut flowers. Most cultivated snapdragons belong to […]

Bugbane is a tall, perennial plant with large, broad leaves divided into many leaflets. It has clusters of small white flowers. Bugbanes live throughout the north temperate regions of the… BUCKWHEAT is a quick-growing annual plant, grown for its shining, three-sided fruits or “grain.” The plants are native in Asia, but are grown also in […]