Various folk cultures and traditions assign symbolic meanings to plants. Although these are no longer commonly understood by populations that are increasingly divorced from their rural traditions, some meanings survive. In addition, these meanings are alluded to in older pictures, songs and writings. New symbols have also arisen: one of the most known in the United Kingdom is the red poppy as a symbol of remembrance of the fallen in war.
| Plant | Meaning | Region or culture | |
| Asparagus foliage | Fascination | Europe | |
| Bamboo | Longevity, strength, and grace | China | |
| Green willow | False love | Britain | |
| Mistletoe | Used to signify a meeting place where no violence could take place | Druids | |
| Maple Tree/leaves | balance, love, longevity and abundance | Various |
| Flower | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|
| Abatina [1] | Fickleness[2] | |
| Acacia | ||
| general | Friendship;[3] [4] chaste love | |
| pink | Elegance | |
| yellow | Secret Love[5] [6] | |
| rose or white | Elegance;[7] platonic love | |
| Art, artifice | ||
| Deceit | ||
| Painful recollection, sorrowful remembrances | ||
| Thankfulness, gratitude | ||
| Lofty aspirations | ||
| Patience, good fortune, prosperity, unity | ||
| hope; indiscretion and thoughtlessness | ||
| Grief, affliction, religious superstition | ||
| Forgiveness | ||
| Worth beyond beauty | ||
| general | Immortality[8] | |
| Foppery, affectation | ||
| Immortal love, unchangeable | ||
| Immortality, unfading | ||
| Pride, timidity, splendid beauty; hope and achievement.[9] | ||
| Love is reciprocated | ||
| You are my divinity, divine beauty | ||
| Forsaken; sickness, brevity, withered hopes; anticipation | ||
| Inspiration | ||
| Royalty | ||
| Hospitality, happiness, abundance | ||
| Preference, better things to come, good fortune | ||
| Temptation | ||
| Everlasting friendship, "live for me"; "thine till death" | ||
| Simplicity; you are the only one I love | ||
| "Let me heal thy grief" | ||
| Ardour | ||
| Grandeur | ||
| Excess of sensibility; lamentation | ||
| Death, the underworld; "my regrets follow you to the grave"; remembered beyond the tomb | ||
| Symbol of love, daintiness, talisman of love, trusting; cheerfulness in old age | ||
| Your presence softens my pain | ||
| Take care, temperance, fragile, gratitude, passion, Chinese symbols of womanhood | ||
| Innocence, purity of heart | ||
| Celibacy; hope; single blessedness; delicacy | ||
| Sympathy | ||
| Cure, relief; sympathetic feeling | ||
| Impatience, touch me not; ardent love | ||
| Sourness of temper, petulance | ||
| Hate; (archaic) poverty | ||
| Bay | Glory, (in a wreath) reward of merit; "I change but in death" | |
| "I respect thy tears" | ||
| Prosperity | ||
| Beware; a fanciful nature; deformity | ||
| Unwavering love, a constant heart | ||
| Good luck | ||
| Treachery | ||
| Elegance; Meekness | ||
| Revenge | ||
| Liberty, magnificence, good perspective, joyfulness; faithfulness | ||
| Truth | ||
| Justice | ||
| Fate, protection, hope against adversity, good fortune; difficulty | ||
| Frivolous amusement; a trifling character | ||
| Loyalty, constancy, humility & gratitude | ||
| Bound by fate; "Will you help me?" | ||
| Firmness and stoicism, constancy | ||
| Bluntness, abruptness | ||
| Intrusion | ||
| Enthusiasm | ||
| Humility and neatness | ||
| "Can you bear poverty?" | ||
| Vivacity, vibrancy, health, danger | ||
| Docility; indiscretion; indecision | ||
| Importunity, touch me not | ||
| Industry | ||
| Sarcasm, ingratitude; childishness; riches, memories of childhood | ||
| Profit | ||
| Magnificence and beauty; feminine beauty; modesty | ||
| Constancy and steadfastness;[10] perfect loveliness, unpretending excellence | ||
| Gratitude, acknowledgement; constancy | ||
| Carnation | general | Fascination; distinction; ardent love; contempt; woman's love |
| red | Deep romantic love, passion; "alas poor heart," admiration | |
| green | Secret symbol of the followers of Oscar Wilde, love between two men | |
| white | Sweet and lovely, innocence, pure love, faithfulness | |
| pink | A woman's love, a mother's love; I'll never forget you | |
| yellow | Rejection, disdain, disappointment; pride and beauty | |
| purple | Capriciousness, whimsical, changeable, unreliability | |
| mauve | Dreams of fantasy | |
| striped | Refusal, no, "sorry I can't be with you" | |
| solid color | Yes, affirmative | |
| general | Pretended love, a snare; "I am thy prisoner" | |
| Invitation to dance | ||
| red | Youthful love | |
| white | Betrayed | |
| Incorruptible | ||
| Joys to come; deceptive hopes | ||
| Energy in adversity; mercy | ||
| Suspicion | ||
| Cherry blossom | A good education | |
| white | Deception | |
| in Japan | Transience of life, Mono no aware, Wabi-sabi, gentleness, kindness | |
| in China | Feminine beauty | |
| Do me justice; deceptive appearances | ||
| Frugality | ||
| Love of variety, fidelity, "I will think of thee/it"; afterthough | ||
| Chrysanthemum | ||
| general | fidelity, optimism, joy and long life; "you're a wonderful friend," rest, cheerfulness | |
| red | Love | |
| yellow | Slighted love | |
| white | Truth, loyal love | |
| Beloved daughter/child; maternal affection | ||
| Glorious beauty | ||
| Please notice my love/feelings for you | ||
| Dignity | ||
| Clover | red | Industry |
| white | Think of me | |
| Justice shall be done | ||
| Folly; deceived lovers, ingratitude, faithlessness, as in Shakespeare's Hamlet | ||
| Always cheerful, love at first sight | ||
| Hidden merit | ||
| Gentility; worth above beauty | ||
| "Success crown your wishes" | ||
| Youthful beauty and winning grace, rejected love (in Switzerland), "glory of spring," heartsickness and the death of young maidens; rusticity, healing, pensiveness | ||
| Love forsaken | ||
| Cure for heartache; hardiness | ||
| Resolution; stability, power | ||
| Crocus | Love, abuse not, Lupercalia; impatience, youthful joy, hope, and friendship in adversity | |
| Cheerfulness | ||
| Love of variety, fidelity; mirth; beware of excess | ||
| Power and majesty, especially imperial power; pride of birth | ||
| "Thy frown will kill me"; "you please all" | ||
| Meanness | ||
| Death, mourning, despair, sorrow | ||
| Unrequited love, evanescent happiness and deceitful hopes; regard, respect; self-love; chivalry | ||
| Elegance and dignity; abundance; instability | ||
| Daisy | general | loyal love, gentleness, innocence; womanly truth, purity, fidelity, and patient endurance; or, dissembling as in Shakespeare's Hamlet |
| Easter | Candor and innocence | |
| garden | "I share your sentiments" | |
| red | Beauty unknown to possessor | |
| orange | Joy and sunshine | |
| yellow | Happiness and joy | |
| blue | Long-term loyalty and trust | |
| purple | Thoughtfulness | |
| wild | "I will think of it" | |
| Watchfulness | ||
| Overcoming hardship; faithfulness, happiness, love's oracle; rustic oracle; youthful recollections; coquetry | ||
| Sweets to the sweet | ||
| Coquetry | ||
| Flight of fancy | ||
| Passion; lust | ||
| I will show my true self to you, clarity, honesty | ||
| Childbirth | ||
| Baseness | ||
| Deceit, falsehood | ||
| Durability; honesty, true nobility | ||
| Chivalrous devotion, high courage; daring, noble purity | ||
| Compassion; humility; zeal | ||
| Dignity | ||
| Spells, witchcraft, sorcery | ||
| Joy, mental clarity, psychic powers;[11] "your eyes are bewitching" | ||
| Inconstancy, silent love | ||
| Merit, strength, worthy of all praise; cuckoldry, as in Shakespeare's Hamlet,[12] | ||
| Magic, fascination, sincerity; Confidence | ||
| Beneficence | ||
| Argument; longevity, prolificness | ||
| Domestic industry, fate, "I feel your kindness" | ||
| True love, don't forget me; faithful love, affectionate remembrance, chivalry, light, truth[13] | ||
| Insecurity;[14] stateliness, youth; insincerity; delirium | ||
| Innocence, trust, friendship | ||
| Misanthropy | ||
| Resilience, loneliness, solitude, disgust | ||
| Grace; taste | ||
| Secret love, joy, good luck; purity, sweet love, you're lovely | ||
| Geranium | General | Gentility, determination; (archaic) folly; confidence; deceit, preference |
| Bridal favor | ||
| Lemon | Unexpected meeting | |
| True friendship | ||
| Pencilled-leaf | Ingenuity | |
| Preference | ||
| Stupidity; consolation | ||
| Silver-leaved | Recall | |
| Wild | Steadfast piety | |
| Strength of character, honor, conviction, generosity; ready armed | ||
| Encouragement; be cautious | ||
| Love in all seasons, endearing affection | ||
| Winter, age; thoughts of heaven | ||
| Hope | ||
| Peace, reconciliation | ||
| Solitude | ||
| Heather | purple | Solitude, beauty, admiration |
| white | Protection, wishes will come true | |
| Tears | ||
| Calumny | ||
| Emblem of faithfully devoted love | ||
| Confidence | ||
| Delicate beauty | ||
| Potential, possibilities, psychic skills | ||
| Foresight | ||
| Ambition; fruitfulness | ||
| Devoted and generous affection; bonds of love | ||
| Luxury | ||
| Domestic economy, vivacity | ||
| Hyacinth | ||
| blue | Constancy | |
| purple | Grief and sorrow; Please forgive me | |
| red or pink | Playfulness, sport | |
| white | Unobtrusive loveliness | |
| yellow | Jealousy | |
| general | In a negative[15] sense frigidity, heartlessness; Thank you for understanding; boastfulness | |
| pink | Heartfelt emotion or gratitude | |
| purple | A desire to deeply understand someone | |
| blue | Frigidity and apology | |
| white | Boasting, bragging, purity, grace and abundance | |
| Purification | ||
| Formality | ||
| Iris | ||
| general | Eloquence, good news, light; faith, valor, wisdom, friendship; a message | |
| blue | Faith, hope | |
| purple | Wisdom, compliments | |
| yellow | Passion | |
| white | Purity | |
| Attachment | ||
| Dependence, endurance; faithfulness, wedded love, affection; friendship | ||
| Rupture | ||
| Jasmine | ||
| Unconditional and eternal love, monetary wealth. (in the Philippines and Hinduism); emblem of brides | ||
| white | Amiability | |
| yellow | Grace and elegance | |
| Desire, returned affection, love me | ||
| Asylum, protection | ||
| Mental beauty | ||
| Kerria (棣棠 Dì táng) | (China) Royalty, Nobility of heart[16] | |
| Levity, lightness, fickleness, haughtiness; an open heart | ||
| Flower | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|
| Glory and honor | ||
| "I die if neglected"; a token | ||
| Rejected love, passionate love, unconditional love, compassion | ||
| Love, devotion, loyalty; distrust; confession | ||
| Fidelity in love; discretion, zest | ||
| Lilac | purple | First emotions of love |
| white | Youthful innocence, humility | |
| Lily | general | Affection for loved ones; majesty |
| white | Purity, sweetness | |
| pink | Love, femininity and admiration | |
| scarlet | Lofty aspirations | |
| orange | Desire, passion; hatred; wealth | |
| Sweetness, humility, purity,; returning happiness | ||
| Conjugal love | ||
| Bravery | ||
| Malevolence | ||
| Ecstacy | ||
| Purity, chastity and eloquence; rebirth; estranged love | ||
| You puzzle me, perplexity | ||
| Hopelessness, not heartless | ||
| Voraciousness | ||
| Perseverance, love of nature, nobility | ||
| Consumed by love; beneficence; sweet disposition | ||
| Pain and grief, jealousy; cruelty | ||
| Blushes | ||
| Welcome | ||
| "My best days are past" | ||
| Beauty, happiness, peace, protection; uselessness | ||
| Coquetry, desire to please | ||
| Worth; "Your qualities surpass your charms", health and moral beauty | ||
| Hermitage | ||
| Mint | Virtue | |
| Warmth of feeling | ||
| Dreaming of love | ||
| Forgetfulness | ||
| Repose; affection | ||
| Tranquility | ||
| Mulberry | ||
| black | I will not survive you | |
| Wisdom | ||
| Good-nature | ||
| Joy, triumph, fertility in marriage (in ancient Rome); peace and well-being (in Judaism); (coupled with laurel) glory, honor, a bloodless victory (in ancient Greece); love, home, duty; love in absence | ||
| self-love, egotism, formality | ||
| Patriotism, conquest, victory in battle; heroism | ||
| Prosperity | ||
| Life and death, protection[17] as in Shakespeare's Hamlet; Cruelty; slander | ||
| Silence, falsehood; dark thoughts, scepticism | ||
| truth | ||
| Deadly | death | |
| Oak leaf | Strength; Hospitality; bravery; honor | |
| Oats | Music; country life | |
| Beware | ||
| Peace | ||
| Innocence, purity, eternal love, marriage; chastity | ||
| Orchid | general | Refined beauty |
| I'll be thinking of you even in my dreams | ||
| red | Fire, romance, desire, and passion | |
| orange | Pride, enthusiasm, and boldness | |
| yellow | New beginnings, friendship, and joy | |
| green | Love, charm, beauty, fertility, refinement, and thoughtfulness | |
| blue | Rarity, uniqueness, beauty, and spirituality | |
| purple | Respect, royalty and admiration | |
| pink | Grace, gentleness, innocence, happiness, playfulness, and fertility | |
| white | Purity, faith, humility, safety, elegance, innocence, and beauty | |
| Patience | ||
| Pansy/Heart's-ease | Thoughtfulness, merriment, remembrance, you occupy my thoughts; "Think of me" | |
| Peach blossom | Long-life, generosity, bridal hope, charm; "I am your captive" | |
| Pear blossom | Lasting friendship; affection; comfort | |
| Bashfulness, happy marriage, prosperity; shame | ||
| Prosperity, honor (in China) | ||
| Masculinity, bravery (in Japan) | ||
| Early and sincere friendship, tender recollections | ||
| Wealth, fortune, prosperity, friendship | ||
| Harmony, unanimity, "our souls are united" | ||
| Pine | ||
| general | Philosophy | |
| Time and faith | ||
| Plum blossom | Beauty and longevity; "Keep your promises"; fidelity | |
| Perfection, springtime, new beginnings | ||
| Brilliance | ||
| Eternal love; Childhood; I can't live without you | ||
| Courage, transformation, daring, resourcefulness, diversity | ||
| Poppy | general | Sleep, consolation, death; Oblivion, imagination; evanescent pleasures, fantastic extravagance |
| red | Pleasure; sacrifice, remembrance; the blood of fallen soldiers | |
| white | Dreams, modern, peace; "my bane, my antidote"; consolation; time | |
| yellow | Wealth, success | |
| Haven, sanctuary; complexity, delicateness | ||
| Enjoy small moments because they do not last; transient beauty | ||
| Wit | ||
| Rebirth, new beginnings, great expectations[18] | ||
| "You are radiant with charms"; ingratitude | ||
| Danger, beware, I am dangerous | ||
| Rose | general | Love; silence, privacy, conversations held in confidence [19] |
| red | True love; bashful love | |
| black | Death, hatred, despair, sorrow, mystery, danger, obsession | |
| blue | Mystery, attaining the impossible, love at first sight | |
| burgundy | Unconscious beauty | |
| pink | Grace | |
| dark pink | Gratitude | |
| light pink | Desire, passion, joy of life, youth, energy; grace | |
| coral or orange | Desire, fascination | |
| lavender or violet | Love at first sight
| |
| yellow | Friendship, joy, gladness; apology, intense emotion, undying love; extreme betrayal, a broken heart, infidelity, jealousy | |
| white | I am worthy of you; secrecy | |
| dried white rose | Sorrow; death is preferable to loss of virtue; transient impressions | |
| red and white together | Unity | |
| red and yellow together | Joy, happiness and excitement | |
| thornless | Love at first sight | |
| dead | sweet memories | |
| bud (red) | Beauty, purity, love, youth | |
| bud (white) | Girlhood; a heart unacquainted with love | |
| bud (moss) | Confession of love | |
| "Thou art all that is lovely," loveliness | ||
| bridal | Happy love | |
| Love is dangerous | ||
| Beauty always new | ||
| Brilliant complexion; blushing beauty | ||
| Pleasure and pain | ||
| Hundred-leaved (also called cabbage rose or moss rose) | Grace; Pride; ambassador of love; superior merit | |
| "If you love me you will find out" | ||
| Grace | ||
| Capricious beauty, (in a cluster) charming | ||
| Remembrance; "Your presence revives me" | ||
| Regret, sorrow, repentance; grace, clear vision; disdain | ||
| Health, wisdom, respect; domestic virtue; esteem | ||
| Agitation | ||
| Unfortunate attachment, I have lost all, widowhood | ||
| Religious enthusiam | ||
| Sensitivity, modesty; timidity; sensibility | ||
| Good luck; the Trinity (in Christianity), the three departments of nature, sea, earth, and heaven (among Irish druids), protection from snakes; light heartedness | ||
| Snapdragon | Presumption, deception, a gracious lady | |
| Consolation or hope; Youthful love and simplicity (in Germany), hope and friendship in adversity (in France), purity, humility, and innocence (in England); friend in need | ||
| Speedwell | Travel, kindness, protection; (female) loyalty | |
| red | abandonment, loss, separation, death and the cycle of rebirth. It's commonly referred to as the Flower of Death | |
| white | Positive nature, new beginnings, good health and rebirth | |
| yellow | Happiness, light, wisdom, gratitude, strength, everlasting friendship | |
| pink | Feminine love, beauty and passion | |
| "Esteem not love"; transient happiness | ||
| Spindle tree | Your image is engraved on my heart | |
| Superstition; animosity | ||
| Star of Bethlehem | Atonement, reconciliation; purity; guidance | |
| United, union; (broken) a broken agreement | ||
| Statice | Remembrance, sympathy, success | |
| Stock | ||
| Lasting beauty, "you'll always be beautiful to me," a happy life, bonds of affection | ||
| Promptness | ||
| Tranquility | ||
| Loft thoughts; adoration and pride; false riches | ||
| Simplicity (American), a wound to heal (European); poetry; home | ||
| Delicate pleasures; departure | ||
| Felicity, happiness; felicity | ||
| Finesse, gallantry | ||
| I declare war on you; resistance | ||
| Nobility, endurance, warning;[20] surliness; austerity | ||
| Disguise, deceitful charms; "I dreamed of thee" | ||
| Sympathy | ||
| Activity | ||
| Dangerous pleasures; voluptuousness; a sweet voice | ||
| Fame | ||
| Tulip | general | Consuming love (in Turkey and India), inconstancy (in Turkey); love and passion |
| red | Declaration of love | |
| pink | Caring, Good wishes, Friendship, Joyful Occasions, Confidence | |
| purple | Nobility/Royalty, Rebirth, Spring | |
| white | Forgiveness, Remembrance, Sincerity; "I am worthy of you" | |
| yellow | Cheerful thoughts, Sunshine, Hope, Desperate love, "There's sunshine in your smile"; hopeless love | |
| blue | Respect, Tranquility, Trust | |
| orange | Understanding, Appreciation, Truest love | |
| black | Power, Strength, Supreme elegance | |
| variegated | Beautiful eyes, a declaration of love | |
| Readiness, an accommodating disposition | ||
| Flattery | ||
| Enchantment; sensibility, sensitivity | ||
| Violet | blue | Faithfulness, watchfulness, I'll always be true |
| purple | Daydreaming, love between two women, lesbian love | |
| yellow | Rural happiness | |
| white | Modesty, innocence, candor; let's take a chance | |
| Modesty | ||
| Filial affection; mental beauty, artifice | ||
| May you be happy | ||
| Changless affection and fidelity in misfortune | ||
| Intellect, stratagem | ||
| Purity of heart; eloquence | ||
| Willow | ||
| Love foresaken | ||
| Bravery and humanity | ||
| Mourning | ||
| Pretension | ||
| Winged seeds (any kind) | Messengers | |
| Protection, luck | ||
| Welcoming | ||
| A magic spell | ||
| Design | ||
| Wealth and prosperity | ||
| Misanthropy, chivalry; knight-errantry | ||
| Joy, maternal tenderness | ||
| Absence, bitter sorrow, do not be discouraged | ||
| Rudeness, pertinacity | ||
| Cheerfulness under adversity | ||
| Healing; war | ||
| Sorrow | ||
| Never-ending love | ||
| Thinking of you; remembering absent friends, sentimentality | ||