FlowernBalloon | 7 Facts About Flowers You May Not Know

Flowers are indeed lovely, and make for the most beautiful gifts – but how much do you know about them?

If you’re someone who’s interested in flowers, we’ve got ten fun facts about flowers that you may not know about. We promise you’ll learn enough trivia to impress even an amateur florist.

#1

The most popular flower for romance is arguably the rose. It’s one of the oldest flowers on earth, and has thousands of varieties and colours. But did you know that roses are related to fruit?

They are a family member of apples, peaches, cherries, plumes, pears and other berries! While we wouldn’t say that an apple is a rose, it belongs to the Malus genus, just one of many genera in the rose family (Rosaceae). If you look closely at the flowers on these fruits, they resemble roses as well!

If you’re a fan of roses, check out our Endearing Wishes bundle, a delightful arrangement of roses, eustoma and matthiola for any occasion!

#2

Let’s talk about large flowers! This is a popular debate among the world of flowers, as two particular blooms are said to hold that title.

The tallest flower in the world is called the Titan Arum that blooms up to nine-foot tall. Known as the ‘corpse flower’, it has the distinctive smell of rotting flesh – sound familiar? There is also the Rafflesia, a parasitic plant native to Southeast Asia that produces the largest flowers in the world, up to a diameter of three-foot-four.

The difference between these two flowers is that the Titan Arum has tall and phallic blooms while the Rafflesia consists of five giant petals that look like tongues. Though the Titan Arum is known to be taller, it normally blooms in clusters rather than a single flower. This is why some experts prefer giving the Rafflesia the title of world’s largest individual flower.

#3

The wild thistle is Scotland’s national flower, a stark difference compared to Singapore’s orchid, or Malaysia’s hibiscus. This is because several hundred years ago, wild thistle was said to save Scotland from invading Norse vikings!

It was said that a resting part of Scottish warriors were alerted to danger when an invader stepped on wild thistle and yelled in pain. Due to the wild thistle slowing the enemies down accordingly, the Scottish army was able to fight back and allow their people to escape. Because of that, the wild thistle was named Scotland’s national flower!

#4

The lotus flower was considered to be a sacred flower during ancient times in Egypt. It was used in burial ceremonies as ancient Egyptians viewed it as a symbol of resurrection and eternal life. This is because the flowers would lie dormant for years during dry seasons, and bloom only during rain.

#5

The colour of hydrangeas depends on the acidity level of the soil that it grows in. If the soil is on the more acidic side, the flower will be blue – if the soil is less acidic, the flower will turn out pink!

In Japanese tradition, the flower has both positive and negative connotations – they symbolise both heartfelt emotion, or a change of heart. There is an old folktale in Japan that tells of an ancient emperor who gave his neglected lover a bunch of hydrangea flowers as a symbol of his gratitude and deep emotion towards her. Similarly in some Asian cultures, gifting hydrangeas to another is to say that you consider them important to you.

#6

Harvesting vanilla beans from vanilla flowers is actually a challenging task! It’s super difficult to coax a vanilla plant into flowering – pollination has to be done by hand in order to produce a vanilla bean.

These flowers only open for a couple of hours at a time, and commonly require high temperatures and humidity to thrive. Not every florist can cater to its considerable demands!

#7

Broccoli isn’t a vegetable. Yes, you read that right – it’s a flower!

The part that you eat is actually its flowering head. It’s a plant from the Brassicacceae family, and its flowers and stalks are both consumed as vegetables. It does not look like a typical flower and contains no notable fragrance, but it’s an active flower that can also be pollinated. So the next time you bite into broccoli, remind yourself that you’re actually eating a flower!

The Best Flowers in Singapore!

Impress someone with your new-found knowledge of flowers today! Visit us at FlowernBalloon SG to purchase your very own flowers. We have a large range of flower gifts, from blooming roses, gorgeous carnations flower bouquets to lovely preserved flowers in Singapore.

Check out our shop for our other offerings, such as food hampers or baby gifts. We have an exclusive collection for Deepavali available this month, so don’t miss out!