Floral emblem
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In a number of countries, plants have been chosen as symbols to represent specific geographic areas. Some countries have a country-wide floral emblem; others in addition have symbols representing subdivisions. Different processes have been used to adopt these symbols - some are conferred by government bodies, whereas others are the result of informal public polls. The term floral emblem, which refers to flowers specifically, is primarily used in Australia and Canada. In the United States, the term state flower is more often used.
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[edit] Europe
[edit] United Kingdom
Each of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom has a traditional national floral symbol. In England this is the rose, in Scotland this is the thistle, and in Wales this is the Leek.
A county flower is a flowering plant chosen to symbolise a county. They exist primarily in the United Kingdom, but some counties in other countries also have them.
[edit] County flowers in the United Kingdom
One or two county flowers have a long history in England - the Red rose of Lancashire dates from the Middle Ages, for instance. However, the county flower concept was only extended to cover the whole United Kingdom in 2002, as a promotional tool by a charity. In that year, the plant conservation charity Plantlife ran a competition to choose county flowers for all counties, to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.
Plantlife's scheme is loosely based on Britain's traditional counties, and so some current local government areas are not represented by a flower, and some of the counties included no longer exist as administrative areas. Flowers were also chosen for thirteen major cities: Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Nottingham and Sheffield. The Isles of Scilly was also treated as a county (distinct from Cornwall) for the purpose of the scheme. The Isle of Man was included, but not the Channel Islands.
A total of 94 flowers was chosen in the competition. 85 of the 109 counties have a unique county flower, but several species were chosen by more than one county. Foxglove Digitalis purpurea was chosen for four counties - Argyll, Birmingham, Leicestershire and Monmouthshire) - more than any other species. The following species were chosen for three counties each:
- Bog Rosemary Andromeda polifolia (Cardiganshire, Kirkcudbright and Tyrone)
- Cowslip Primula veris (Northamptonshire, Surrey and Worcestershire)
- Harebell Campanula rotundifolia (Antrim, Dumfries and Yorkshire)
- Thrift Armeria maritima (Bute, Pembrokeshire and the Isles of Scilly)
And the following species were chosen for two counties:
- Grass-of-parnassus Parnassia palustris (Cumberland and Sutherland)
- Pasqueflower Pulsatilla vulgaris (Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire)
- Common Poppy Papaver rhoeas (Essex and Norfolk)
In addition, Sticky Catchfly Lychnis viscaria was chosen for both Edinburgh and Midlothian, the county containing Edinburgh.
For most counties, native species were chosen, but for a small number of counties, non-natives were chosen, mainly archaeophytes.
For a full list of the flowers selected, see County flowers of the United Kingdom.
[edit] Ireland
The shamrock is widely used as a symbol for Ireland.
[edit] County flowers in Ireland
- Bog-rosemary is the county flower of County Offaly [1]
[edit] Norway
- Lily-of-the-valley was chosen as the county flower of Østfold [2]
- Globe flower is the county flower of Troms [3]
[edit] Sweden
- Black vanilla orchid, Nigritella nigra, is the county flower of Jämtland [4]
- Mistletoe is the county flower of Västmanland [5]
[edit] Asia
[edit] Bangladesh
The floral emblem are the National symbols of the country constituting the nation such the Shapla (National flower), Banyan (National tree), Jackfruit (National fruit) See also: National Emblem of Bangladesh.
[edit] China
The floral emblem is usually the peony, plum blossom, and chrysanthemum also the National fruit of PRC is the Kiwifruit.
[edit] Malaysia
The national flower for Malaysia is Hibiscus.
The state flower for the state of Sarawak in eastern Malaysia is Phalanopsis bellina.
[edit] Pakistan
The floral emblem are the National symbols of the country constituting the nation-state such the Jasmine (National flower) and Rhododendron in the state of Kashmir (disputed territory), Deodar (National tree), Mango (National fruit) Also See: National Emblem of Pakistan.
[edit] Singapore
The national flower for Singapore is Vanda Miss Joaquim.
[edit] Taiwan
Taiwan has selected county flowers for all of its counties [6]. A partial list:- Magnolia is the county flower of Chiayi County [7]
- The Common Bombax Flower is the county flower of Taichung County [8]
- The Gaillardia is the county flower of Penghu County [9]
Taiwan has also selected county trees.
[edit] the Americas
[edit] Bolivia
Bolivian national flowers are cantuta (Catua buxifolia) and patujú (Heliconia rostrata)
[edit] Canada
The maple is widely used as a symbol for Canada.
Image:Montrealflag2.gif Many Canadian flags and coat of arms have floral emblems on them. The Flag of Montreal has four floral emblems. On the right side of the Flag of Saskatchewan overlapping both green and gold halves is the western red lily, the provincial floral emblem. The Coat of Arms of Port Coquitlam has the City's floral emblem, the azalea displayed on a collar. The Coat of Arms of Prince Edward Island displays Lady's Slippers, the floral emblem of the Island. The Coat of Arms of Nova Scotia has the trailing arbutus or mayflower, the floral emblem of Nova Scotia, added when the arms were reassumed in 1929.
[edit] Peru
The national flower of Peru is the cantuta (cantua buxifolia).
[edit] United States
In 1986 President Ronald Reagan made the rose the floral emblem of the United States. [10] In the United States, state flowers and state trees have been adopted as symbols by state legislatures. See List of U.S. state flowers and List of U.S. state trees for complete lists.
[edit] Australia
In Australia, floral emblems have been adopted by each state and territory. See List of Australian floral emblems for a complete list.
