Flowers - A flower is the part of the plant that makes the seeds. All flowers have four basic parts: Sepal - The outer green parts of the base of the flower.

• All flowers have four basic parts:Sepal-The outer green parts of

the base of the flower. Petal- One of the parts of a

flower that is arranged in a circle. They are the colored part of the flower

Carpel-The female organs of a flower. They have three parts: 1) an ovary, holding one or more egg cells. 2) style and 3) stigma which is at the tip of the style and receives the pollen

Stamen-The male organ inside the petals. The part of a flower that produces pollen.

• It is a flowering plant with the largest un-branched inflorescence in the world.

• The largest “flower” in the world.

• Season – All

• Native - Greece

• Other names - Carrion flower, the "Corpse flower", or "Corpse plant"

• It smells similar to a decomposing mammal

• The fragile bloom has been extremely difficult to cultivate, probably due to the fact that it’s odd shape requires that it have a local natural pollinator to procreate.

• Season - From early spring to midsummer

• Native – Burma and Northern Thailand

• Other name - Parrot balsam

A pollinator is the biotic agent e.g. honey bee that moves pollen from the male anthers of a flower to the female stigma of a flower to accomplish fertilization

• The Ghost Orchid blooms from an epiphyte, a tangled mass of stems that wrap around a tree trunk

• Season – All but shaded area

• Native - Cuba and Florida

• Other name - Polly or the “white frog or Palm chid

• The name comes from the usually red heart-shaped flowers which have a longer inner petal that extends below the 'heart'. The plant takes almost two years to completely mature, eventually measuring 2-3 feet long. Comes in a variety of different colors, including rose pink, red, and white.

• Season - From early spring to midsummer

• Native - Asia and North America

• Other name - Venus's car, bleeding heart, Dutchman's trousers, or lyre flower

• Tropical-looking, fleshy leaves with flower spikes that appear to be miniature “pineapples” at the top of each stem.

• Hundreds of waxy, one inch starry flowers are perfectly shaped, mostly edged in maroon and begin opening from the bottom up.

• Season – All

• Native - South Africa

• Other name - Pineapple Lilly

• A common name of the genus is bird of paradise flower, because of a supposed resemblance of its flowers to the bird of paradise.

• Season – September through May

• Native – South Africa

• Also known as crane flower.

• Their flowers are produced on long, erect or drooping panicles, and consist of brightly colored waxy bracts, with small true flowers peeping out from the bracts.

• Season – Summers• Native – Tropical Americas and

the Pacific Ocean islands west to Indonesia.

• Other name -Also known as lobster-claws, wild plantains or false bird-of-paradise

• Bracts can be orange, purple, red, yellow, pink, green or their combinations.

• This orchid, which sports brick-red blooms and whose growth is restricted only by the amount of space it is afforded, smells strikingly like chocolate. With fragrances said to range from mint-chocolate to vanilla-chocolate. Indoor Plant

• Season – All

• Native - southern Australia

• It is one of the largest and probably the most complex genus of this family; certainly it is one of the most variable. Many species are undoubtedly not yet described and new ones are being found every year.

• Season – wet tropical climate• Native – Central America and

South America, but some in semi-arid environments. Most species occur in Panama, Colombia, Brazil, the Guiana Shield and Ecuador

• Also known as - "Flamingo Flower" or "Boy Flower",

Bladder Campion• Bladder campion is

recognized by the balloon-like calyx, pale green and veined with dark green or red, and its hairless leaves.

• Season - April to September

• Native – Europe

• The Bladder color may vary from purple, off white, pale green, red etc.

• Though the blue rose is certainly lovely and undoubtedly exotic, it barely makes this list because a true ‘blue’ rose doesn’t currently exist in nature. In the past, florists have been able to produce artificial blue roses by allowing naturally white roses to absorb blue dye, causing the petals to turn a royal blue or indigo color. However, in 2004, a team of Japanese scientists unraveled the riddle of rose genetics, figuring out how to “turn off” the rose gene that prevented the production of the blue pigment “delphinidin.” As a result, by incorporating iris and pansy genes into rose DNA, the team has been able to produce naturally-grown blue roses, which currently present with a distinctive lilac color. To date, the genetically-altered blue roses are rather pricey, being marketed to the lucrative cut flower industry.

Significance of some common flower

Carnation Red - 'My heart aches for you‘

Carnation Pink - 'I'll never forget you'

Carnation White - Sweet and Lovely

Carnation Pink - I'll Never Forget You

Carnation Striped - Sorry I Can't Be with You

Carnation Yellow - You Have Disappointed Me,

Rejection Chrysanthemum Red - 'I Love You'

Chrysanthemum White - Truth

Chrysanthemum Yellow - Slighted Love

Lavender - Devoted Love

Lily White - Youth or Beauty

Lily Tiger - Prosperity

Lily Purple - Beginning of Love

Lotus Flower - Any Estranged Love

Orange Blossom - Eternal Love, Marriage and Fruitfulness

Orchid - Love, Beauty, Refinement

Rose Red - 'I Love You' or Passion

Rose Pink – Happiness

Rose Yellow – Friendship

Rose White Innocence or Purity

Tulip General - Perfect Lover

Tulip Red - Love

Tulip Yellow - 'Sunshine of my life'