Hanakotobat h e l a n g u a g e o f f l o w e r s

花言葉

by: Nicole Perkins

The  language of flowers, sometimes called  floriography,  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 the Middle East. Plants and flowers are used as symbols in the Hebrew Bible—particularly of love and lovers in the Song of Songs,  as an emblem for the Israelite people and for the coming Messiah—and of Jesus Christ in the New Testament. In Western Culture, William Shakespeare ascribed emblematic meanings to flowers, especially in  Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Interest in floriography soared in Victorian England and in the United States 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.

Hanakotoba is the Japanese form of the language of flowers. In this practice plants were given codes and passwords. Physiological effects and action under the color of the flowers, put into words the impressions of nature and the presence of thorns with the height of tall plants, flowers and garlands of flowers through the various types. Meant to convey emotion and communicate directly to each other without needing the use of words.

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Spider LilyConvallaria majalis  commonly known as the Lily of the Valley, is a sweetly scented (and highly  poisonous) woodland  flowering plant  that is native throughout the cool temperate  Northern Hemisphere  in Asia, Europe and in the southern  Appalachian Mountains in the United States.The stems grow to 15–30 cm tall, with one or two leaves 10–25 cm long, flowering stems have two leaves and araceme of 5–15 flowers on the stem apex. The flowers are white tepals (rarely pink), bell-shaped, 5–10  mm diameter, and sweetly scented; flowering is in late spring, in mild winters in the Northern Hemisphere it is in early March. The fruit is a small orange-red berry 5–7 mm diameter that contains large whitish to brownish colored seeds that dry to a clear translucent round bead 1–3 mm wide. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit.

Symbolism

In the “language of flowers”, the lily of the valley signifies the return of happiness. Legend tells of the affection of a lily of the valley for a nightingale that did not come back to the woods until the flower bloomed in May.

Toxicity

All parts of the plant are highly poisonous, including the red berries which may be attractive to children. If ingested—even in small amounts—the plant can cause abdominal pain, vomiting, and a reduced heart rate.

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HydrangeaHydrangea (common names hydrangea or hortensia) is a genus of 70-75 species of flowering plants native to southern and eastern Asia and the Americas. By far the greatest species diversity is in eastern Asia, notably China, Japan, and Korea. Most areshrubs 1 to 3 meters tall, but some are small trees, and others lianas reaching up to 30 m (98 ft) by climbing up trees.

There are two flower arrangements in hydrangeas. Mophead flowers are large round flowerheads resembling pom-poms or, as the name implies, the head of a mop. In contrast, lacecap flowers bear round, flat flowerheads with a center core of subdued, fertile flowers surrounded by outer rings of showy, sterile flowers. In most species the flowers are white, but in some species, can be blue, red, pink, light purple, or dark purple. In these species the color is affected by soil pH.

Hydrangeas are moderately toxic if eaten, with all parts of the plant containing cyanogenic glycosides. Hydrangea paniculata is reportedly sometimes smoked as an intoxicant, despite the danger of illness and/or death due to the cyanide.

In Japan, ama-cha, meaning sweet tea, is another tisane made from Hydrangea serrata, whose leaves contain a substance that develops a sweet taste. For the fullest taste, fresh leaves are crumpled, steamed, and dried, yielding dark brown tea leaves. Ama-cha is mainly used for kan-butsu-e (the Buddha bathing ceremony) on April 8 every year—the day thought to be Buddha’s birthday in Japan. Ama-cha is poured over a statue of Buddha in the ceremony and served to people in attendance. A legend has it that on the day Buddha was born, nine dragons poured Amrita over him; ama-cha is substituted for Amrita in Japan.

The pink hydrangea has risen in popularity all over the world, but especially in Asia. Pink hydrangeas have many different meanings, but generally means, “You are the beat of my heart,” as described by the celebrated Asian florist Tan Jun Yong, where he was quoted saying, “The light delicate blush of the petals reminds me of a beating heart, while the size could only match the heart of the sender!”

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The  pansy  is a group of large-flowered  hybrid plants cultivated as garden flowers. The pansy flower is two to three inches in diameter and has two slightly overlapping upper petals, two side petals, and a single bottom petal with a slight beard emanating from the flower’s center. The plant may grow to nine inches in height, and prefers sun to varying degrees and well-draining soils.The common names “pansy” and “violet” are often used interchangeably. When a distinction is made, plants considered to be pansies have four petals pointing upwards, and only one pointing down. Violets have three petals pointing up and two pointing down.

The name pansy is derived from the French word pensée “thought”, and was

imported into Late Middle English as a name ofviola in the mid 15th century, as the flower was regarded as a symbol of remembrance. The name “love in idleness” was meant to imply the image of a lover who has little or no

other employment than to think of his beloved one. The name “heart’s-ease” came from the

woman St. Euphrasia, whose name in Greek signifies cheerfulness of mind. The woman, who refused marriage and took the veil, was considered a pattern of humility, hence the name “humble violet”.

Modern horticulturalists tend to use the term “pansy” for those multi-coloured large-flowered hybrids grown for bedding purposes every year, while “viola” is

usually reserved for smaller, more delicate annuals and perennials.

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Pansy

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Symbolism

On account of its popularity in both society and its recurring appearances in Romantic poetry, a variety of new nicknames for the flower began to circulate. Dorothea Lynde Dix proclaims that “Perhaps no flower (not excepting even the queenly rose) claims to be so universal a favorite, as the viola tricolor; none currently has been honored with so rich a variety of names, at once expressive of grace, delicacy and tenderness.”  Many of these names play on the whimsical nature of love, including “Three Faces under a Hood,” “Flame Flower,” “Jump Up and Kiss Me,” “Flower of Jove,” and “Pink of my John.”

Because its name means “thought”, the pansy was chosen as a symbol of  Freethought and has been used in the literature of the  American Secular Union.  Humanists  use it too, as the pansy›s current appearance was developed from the heartsease by two centuries of intentional  crossbreeding  of wild plant hybrids. The specific colors of the flower – purple, yellow, and white – are meant to symbolize memories, loving thoughts and souvenirs, respectively.

In the  language of flowers, a honeyflower and a pansy left by a lover for his beloved means “I am thinking of

our forbidden love”. In 1858, the writer James Hibberd wrote that the French custom of giving a bride a bouquet of pansies (thoughts) and marigolds (cares) symbolized the woes of domestic life rather than marital bliss.

A German fable tells of how the pansy lost its perfume. Originally pansies would have been very fragrant, growing wild in fields and forests. It was said that people would trample the grass completely in eagerness to pick pansies. Unfortunately, the people’s cows were starving due to the ruined fields, so the pansy prayed to give up her perfume. Her prayer was answered, and without her perfumed scent, the fields grew tall, and the cows grew fat on the fresh green grass.

Links •wikipedia.com

•flikr.com

花言葉