Floriography (language of flowers) is a means of cryptological communication through the use or arrangement of flowers. Meaning has been attributed to flowers for thousands of years, and some form of floriography has been practiced in traditional cultures throughout Europe, Asia, and Africa. Plants and flowers are used as

symbols A symbol is a mark, sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by creating linkages between otherwise very different co ...

in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Song of Songs, as an emblem for the Israelite people, and for the coming Messiah. In

Western culture Leonardo da Vinci's ''Vitruvian Man''. Based on the correlations of ideal Body proportions">human proportions with geometry described by the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius in Book III of his treatise ''De architectura''. image:Plato Pio-Cle ...

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

ascribed emblematic meanings to flowers, especially in ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

''. Interest in floriography soared in

Victorian England In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edward ...

and in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

during the 19th century. Gifts of blooms, plants, and specific floral arrangements were used to send a coded message to the recipient, allowing the sender to express feelings which could not be spoken aloud in Victorian society. Armed with floral dictionaries, Victorians often exchanged small "talking bouquets", called nosegays or tussie-mussies, which could be worn or carried as a fashion accessory.

History

According to Jayne Alcock, grounds and gardens supervisor at the Walled Gardens of Cannington, the renewed

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwa ...

interest in the language of flowers finds its roots in Ottoman Turkey, specifically the court in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

and an obsession it held with

tulips Tulips (''Tulipa'') are a genus of spring-blooming perennial herbaceous bulbiferous geophytes (having bulbs as storage organs). The flowers are usually large, showy and brightly coloured, generally red, pink, yellow, or white (usually in warm ...

during the first half of the 18th century. The Victorian use of flowers as a means of covert communication bloomed alongside a growing interest in

botany Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek w ...

. The floriography craze was introduced to Europe by two people: Englishwoman Mary Wortley Montagu (1689–1762), who brought it to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

in 1717, and Aubry de La Mottraye (1674–1743), who introduced it to the Swedish court in 1727. Joseph Hammer-Purgstall's (1809) appears to be the first published list associating flowers with symbolic definitions, while the first dictionary of floriography appears in 1819 when Louise Cortambert, writing under pen name Madame Charlotte de la Tour, wrote . Floriography was popularized in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

during 1810–1850, while in Britain it was popular during the Victorian age (roughly 1820–1880), and in the

during 1830–1850. La Tour's book stimulated the publishing industry especially in France, England, and the United States, but also in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

, and other European countries as well as in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...

. Publishers from these countries produced hundreds of editions of floriography books during the 19th century. British floral dictionaries include Henry Phillips' ''Floral Emblems'' published in 1825 and Frederic Shoberl's ''The Language of Flowers; With Illustrative Poetry'', in 1834. Shoberl was the editor of the popular annual "Forget Me Not" from 1822 to 1834. Robert Tyas was a popular British flower writer, publisher, and clergyman, who lived from 1811 to 1879; his book, ''The Sentiment of Flowers; or, Language of Flora'', first published in 1836 and reprinted by various publishing houses at least through 1880, was billed as an English version of Charlotte de la Tour's book. One of the most familiar books about floriography is Routledge's edition illustrated by

Kate Greenaway Catherine Greenaway (17 March 18466 November 1901) was an English Victorian artist and writer, known for her children's book illustrations. She received her education in graphic design and art between 1858 and 1871 from the Finsbury School o ...

, ''The Language of Flowers''. First published in 1884, it continues to be reprinted to this day. In the United States the first appearance of the language of flowers in print was in the writings of

Constantine Samuel Rafinesque Constantine Samuel Rafinesque-Schmaltz (; October 22, 1783September 18, 1840) was a French 19th-century polymath born near Constantinople in the Ottoman Empire and self-educated in France. He traveled as a young man in the United States, ultimat ...

, a French-American naturalist, who wrote on-going features under the title "The School of Flora", from 1827 through 1828, in the weekly

Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely ...

and the monthly ''Casket; or Flowers of Literature, Wit, and Sentiment''. These pieces contained the botanic, English, and French names of the plant, a description of the plant, an explanation of its Latin names, and the flower's emblematic meaning. However, the first books on floriography were Elizabeth Wirt's ''Flora's Dictionary'' and Dorothea Dix's ''The Garland of Flora'', both of which were published in 1829, though Wirt's book had been issued in an unauthorized edition in 1828. During its peak in the United States, the language of flowers attracted the attention of popular writers and editors. Sarah Josepha Hale, longtime editor of the ''

Ladies' Magazine The ''Ladies' Magazine'', an early women's magazine This is a list of women's magazines from around the world. These are magazines that have been published primarily for a readership of women. Currently published *'' 10 Magazine'' (UK - distrib ...

'' and co-editor of '' Godey's Lady's Book'', edited Flora's Interpreter in 1832; it continued in print through the 1860s. Catharine H. Waterman Esling wrote a long poem titled "The Language of Flowers", which first appeared in 1839 in her own language of flowers book, ''Flora's Lexicon''; it continued in print through the 1860s. Lucy Hooper, an editor, novelist, poet, and playwright, included several of her flower poems in ''The Lady's Book of Flowers and Poetry'', first published in 1841.

Frances Sargent Osgood Frances Sargent Osgood (née Locke; June 18, 1811 – May 12, 1850) was an American poet and one of the most popular women writers during her time.Silverman, 281 Nicknamed "Fanny", she was also famous for her exchange of romantic poems with Edga ...

, a poet and friend of

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wid ...

, first published ''The Poetry of Flowers and Flowers of Poetry'' in 1841, and it continued in print through the 1860s. Osgood edited a special gift book, ''The Floral Offering'', in 1847. Sarah Carter Edgarton Mayo, author of several flower books, was associate editor of the Universalist monthly ''

The Ladies' Repository ''The Ladies' Repository'' was a monthly periodical based in Cincinnati and produced by members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. From 1841 to 1876, the magazine devoted itself to literature, arts and doctrines of Methodism, containing article ...

'' in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

from 1839 to 1842. Her book, ''The Flower Vase'', was published in 1844. She edited the books ''Fables of Flora'' in 1844 and ''The Floral Fortune Teller'' in 1846. C. M. Kirtland is probably

Caroline Matilda Kirkland Caroline Mathilda Stansbury Kirkland (January 11, 1801 – April 6, 1864) was an American writer. Biography She was born into a middle-class family in New York City, the oldest of eleven children. Her mother was a writer of fiction and poetry. He ...

, editor of the ''Union Magazine of Literature and Art'' from 1847 to 1851 and the Unitarian weekly ''Christian Inquirer'' from 1847 to 1852. First published in 1848, Kirkland's ''Poetry of Flowers'' continued to be in print at least until 1886. One of the more comprehensive books, its 522 pages contain an extensive dictionary and numerous flower poems.

Meanings

The significance assigned to specific flowers in Western culture varied – nearly every flower had multiple associations, listed in the hundreds of floral dictionaries – but a consensus of meaning for common blooms has emerged. Often, definitions derive from the appearance or behavior of the plant itself. For example, the mimosa, or sensitive plant, represents chastity. This is because the leaves of the mimosa close at night, or when touched. Likewise, the deep red

rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...

and its thorns have been used to symbolize both the blood of Christ and the intensity of

romantic love Romance or romantic love is a feeling of love for, or a strong attraction towards another person, and the courtship behaviors undertaken by an individual to express those overall feelings and resultant emotions. The ''Wiley Blackwell Encyc ...

, while the rose's five petals are thought to illustrate the five crucifixion wounds of Christ. Pink roses imply a lesser affection, white roses suggest virtue and chastity, and yellow roses stand for friendship or devotion. The black rose (actually a very dark shade of red, purple, or maroon) has a long association with

death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

and dark magic. "A woman also had to be pretty precise about where she wore flowers. Say, for instance, a suitor had sent her a tussie-mussie ( nosegay). If she pinned it to the 'cleavage of bosom', that would be bad news for him, since that signified friendship. Ah, but if she pinned it over her heart, 'That was an unambiguous declaration of love'." Later authors have been inspired by this tradition to create lists that associate a birthday flower with each day of the year.

In literature

Jane Austen Jane Austen (; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels, which interpret, critique, and comment upon the British landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots of ...

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

and

Emily Brontë Emily Jane Brontë (, commonly ; 30 July 1818 – 19 December 1848) was an English novelist and poet who is best known for her only novel, '' Wuthering Heights'', now considered a classic of English literature. She also published a book of poe ...

, and children's novelist

Frances Hodgson Burnett Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett (24 November 1849 – 29 October 1924) was a British-American novelist and playwright. She is best known for the three children's novels ''Little Lord Fauntleroy'' (published in 1885–1886), '' A Little ...

, among others, used the language of flowers in their writings. Klavah Wilderness wildflowers

Shakespeare used the word "flower" more than 100 times in his plays and sonnets. In ''

'', Ophelia mentions and explains the symbolic meaning of

pansies The garden pansy (''Viola'' × ''wittrockiana'') is a type of large-flowered hybrid plant cultivated as a garden flower. It is derived by hybridization from several species in the section ''Melanium'' ("the pansies") of the genus ''Viola'', p ...

rosemary ''Salvia rosmarinus'' (), commonly known as rosemary, is a shrub with fragrant, evergreen, needle-like leaves and white, pink, purple, or blue flowers, native plant, native to the Mediterranean Region, Mediterranean region. Until 2017, it was kn ...

fennel Fennel (''Foeniculum vulgare'') is a flowering plant species in the carrot family. It is a hardy, perennial herb with yellow flowers and feathery leaves. It is indigenous to the shores of the Mediterranean but has become widely naturalized ...

, lilies, columbine, rue,

daisy Daisy, Daisies or DAISY may refer to: Plants * ''Bellis perennis'', the common daisy, lawn daisy or English daisy, a European species Other plants known as daisy * Asteraceae, daisy family ** '' Euryops chrysanthemoides'', African bush daisy ** ' ...

, and violets. In ''

The Winter's Tale ''The Winter's Tale'' is a play by William Shakespeare originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, many modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some cri ...

'', the princess Perdita wishes that she had violets,

daffodils ''Narcissus'' is a genus of predominantly spring flowering perennial plants of the amaryllis family, Amaryllidaceae. Various common names including daffodil,The word "daffodil" is also applied to related genera such as ''Sternbergia'', '' Is ...

, and primroses to make garlands for her friends. In ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict a ...

'', Oberon talks to his messenger Puck amidst a scene of wild flowers. In J. K. Rowling's 1997 novel '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', Professor Severus Snape uses the language of flowers to express regret and mourning for the death of Lily Potter, his childhood friend and

Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young wizard, Harry Potter, and his friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, all of whom are students at ...

's mother, according to '' Pottermore''.

Chuck Palahniuk Charles Michael "Chuck" Palahniuk (; born February 21, 1962) is an American freelance journalist and novelist who describes his work as transgressional fiction. He has published 19 novels, three nonfiction books, two graphic novels, and two adu ...

's 1999 novel '' Survivor'' features a discussion of Victorian flower language. A yellow chrysanthemum

Flowers are often used as a symbol of femininity. John Steinbeck's short story " The Chrysanthemums" centers around the yellow florets, which are often associated with optimism and lost love. When the protagonist, Elisa, finds her beloved chrysanthemums tossed on the ground, her hobby and womanhood have been ruined; this suffices the themes of lost appreciation and femininity in Steinbeck's work. In 2009, Vanessa Diffenbaugh published a ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''-bestselling novel centered on floriography, '' The Language of Flowers'', as well as her own flower dictionary. In the poetic anthology (2018) by the Italian writer Sabrina Gatti, Julie, the protagonist, is identified in the Lilium or in the Hydrangea, using the language of flowers, a topic to which the same writer in 2019 dedicates an essay entitled . Hajime Isayama frequently used various types of flowers for symbolism and foreshadowing in his manga series ''

Attack on Titan is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hajime Isayama. It is set in a world where humanity is forced to live in cities surrounded by three enormous walls that protect them from gigantic man-eating humanoids referred to as ...

'', which also includes

Hanakotoba is the Japanese form of the language of flowers. The language was meant to convey emotion and communicate directly to the recipient or viewer without needing the use of words. Flowers and their meanings See also *Language of flowers * *Plant ...

(花言葉), the Japanese form of floriography.

In art

Several

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...

churches in England have paintings, sculpture, or stained glass windows of the lily crucifix, depicting Christ crucified on or holding a

lily ''Lilium'' () is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. They are the true lilies. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. M ...

. One example is a window at The Clopton Chantry Chapel Church in Long Melford, Suffolk, England, UK. The Victorian

Pre-Raphaelites The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (later known as the Pre-Raphaelites) was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti, Jame ...

, a group of 19th-century painters and poets who aimed to revive the purer art of the late medieval period, captured classic notions of beauty romantically. These artists are known for their idealistic portrayal of women, emphasis on nature and morality, and use of literature and mythology. Flowers laden with symbolism figure prominently in much of their work.

John Everett Millais Sir John Everett Millais, 1st Baronet, ( , ; 8 June 1829 – 13 August 1896) was an English painter and illustrator who was one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. He was a child prodigy who, aged eleven, became the youngest ...

, a founder of the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood, used oils to create pieces filled with naturalistic elements and rich in floriography. His painting '' Ophelia'' (1852) depicts Shakespeare's drowned stargazer floating amid the flowers she describes in Act IV, Scene V of ''

''.

John Everett Millais - Ophelia - Google Art Project

The Edwardian artist

John Singer Sargent John Singer Sargent (; January 12, 1856 – April 14, 1925) was an American expatriate artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian-era luxury. He created roughly 900 oil paintings and more ...

spent much time painting outdoors in the English countryside, frequently utilizing floral symbolism. Sargent's first major success came in 1887, with ''

Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose ''Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose'' is an oil-on-canvas painting made by the American painter John Singer Sargent in 1885–86. The painting depicts two small children dressed in white who are lighting paper lanterns as day turns to evening; they ...

'', a large piece painted on site in the

plein air ''En plein air'' (; French for 'outdoors'), or ''plein air'' painting, is the act of painting outdoors. This method contrasts with studio painting or academic rules that might create a predetermined look. The theory of 'En plein air' painting ...

manner, of two young girls lighting lanterns in an English garden. Contemporary artist Whitney Lynn created a site-specific project for the San Diego International Airport employing floriography, utilizing flowers' ability to communicate messages that otherwise would be restricted or difficult to speak aloud. Lynn previously created a work, ''Memorial Bouquet,'' utilizing floral symbolism for the

San Francisco Arts Commission The San Francisco Arts Commission (SFAC) is the City agency that champions the arts as essential to daily life by investing in a vibrant arts community, enlivening the urban environment and shaping innovative cultural policy in San Francisco, Cal ...

Gallery. Based on Dutch Golden Age

still-life A still life (plural: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or man-made (drinking glasses, bo ...

painting, the flowers in the arrangement represent countries that have been sites of US military operations and conflicts. Lebouquetdesaens

Notes and references

''History of the Language of Flowers''
a chapter excerpted from the book ''Flowers, the Angels' Alphabet'' by Susan Loy, 2001.
''The Victorian Language of Flowers - Occasional Papers volume 10''
Occasional Papers of the RHS Lindley Library, volume 10, April 2013. Gives a full overview of the topic and a comparison of the meanings of flowers from a selection of language of flowers books in the RHS Lindley Libraries. *Scans of 19th-century books on the language of flowers: **Charlotte de La Tour (in French),
Le langage des fleurs
', 7e éd., Paris : Garnier Frères, 1858. At

Google books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical ...

. **

(illustration)
''Language of Flowers''
n.d. Via the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

. **Nehemiah Cleaveland
''The Flowers Personified''
New York: R Martin, 1849. Via the Internet Archive {{Authority control Victorian culture