Chrysanthemum (lat. Chrysanthemum) is a herbaceous perennial and annual in the family Asteraceae. In Greek the flower’s name means “golden-colored”, or “flower-sun”, since many species have a yellow coloring of the inflorescences. According to the GRIN site, in nature this genus includes 29 species distributed in the northern and temperate zones, mostly in Asia. Archaeologists say that more than 2,500 years ago chrysanthemum was already cultivated by the ancient Chinese who used its petals for food, and in the treatise “Spring and Autumn” it was mentioned by Confucius himself!
Lily (lat. Lilium) is a genus of plants in the family Liliaceae that is a perennial herb growing from bulbs. In nature there are about 80 species that gave life to many varieties and hybrids through cultivation. Lilies grow in Asia, Europe and North America. An ancient Gaelic word “li-li” means “white-white”, and although in nature there are species with both pinkish and yellowish flowers, the name of the flower is apparently derived from a species known as “lilium candidum”.
Clematis (lat. Clematis), or virgin’s bower is a genus in the buttercup family. It is a woody plant or herbaceous perennial, native to the temperate and subtropical zones of the Northern Hemisphere. There are about 300 species, and sometimes they differ greatly from each other. The Greek word “klema” means “any climbing plant”. In home floriculture mostly clematis-lianas are grown. They say that clematis is a plant that can replace a whole garden.
Iris (lat. Iris), or blueflag, is a genus of rhizome perennials in the family Iridaceae. Iris grows everywhere and has about 700 species of all kinds of shapes and shades. Iris is translated as “rainbow”. It was Hippocrates who named the flower in honor of Iris, the goddess of the rainbow. The legend says that when Prometheus gave fire to people, a rainbow flared up as nature was rejoicing. The rainbow was coming in colors all day, evening and night, and when the darkness receded and the sun rose, everyone saw amazing iris flowers blooming on the ground and the flowers looked like a rainbow.
Malva (lat. Malva), or mallow, or hollyhock, is a genus of herbaceous, usually annual, sometimes biennial and perennial plants in the family Malvaceae. Today about 30 species of mallow grow in nature in the temperate climate of North Africa, North America, Asia and Europe. Malva was cultivated even in ancient Egypt and Greece: a description of the healing properties of the plant was found in the writings of Hippocrates and Pliny the Elder. In the twenties of the last century scientists discovered ecological plasticity and high fodder qualities of malva.
Hosta (lat. Hosta), or funkia, is a genus of herbaceous perennials in the family Asparagaceae, although it used to be included to the family Liliaceae. Hosta was named in honor of the Austrian botanist and doctor N. Host, and the second name funkia was received in honor of H. Cr. Funk, a German botanist. In total there are about 40 species of this plant. Hosta is native to East Asia (Korea, China, Japan), the southwest of the Far East, Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. Moisture-loving hostas grow near the banks of rivers and streams, on the slopes of mountains and forest edges.
Canna (lat. Canna) is the genus in the monotypic family Cannaceae (Latin Cannaceae) of the order Zingiberales, including more than fifty species of herbaceous plants. In nature they grow in Central and South America, India and China. It was brought to Europe by Portuguese sailors in the 16th century, but cultivation of cannas was began only in the 17th century. The name originates from the Greek word “cana” meaning “reed”. And as a matter of fact, the canna stalk resembles this plant.
Phlox (lat. Phlox) is a genus of herbaceous plants in the family of Polemoniaceae that includes about seventy species and about forty of them are cultivated. In Europe phlox was brought in the middle of the 18th century, since then breeders have created about 1,500 varieties of beautiful and fragrant flowers. Phlox is a Greek word meaning “flame”. This name was given to the plant by Carl Linnaeus in 1737 as the flowers of some species are extremely bright. Phlox is native to North America and its harsh climate made this plant easy-to-grow and tenacious. In addition, phloxes are very fragrant and bloom for a long time.
Delphinium (lat. Delphinium) is a genus of herbaceous plants in the family of Ranunculaceae. The common name is larkspur. There are about 450 species of annual and perennial plants. Annual delphiniums that include about 40 species are sometimes referred to an adjacent genus Consolida. Delphiniums grow in China (about 150 species) and throughout Southeast Asia, in the mountains of tropical Africa, in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
Adonis flower (lat. Adonis), or pheasant’s-eye, belongs to the genus Ranunculaceae, that includes, according to different sources, from 20 to 45 species of herbaceous annuals and perennials growing in Europe and some regions of Asia with a temperate climate. Adonis plant prefers a mild summer. Its Latin name comes from the Greek myth and was given in honor of the son of the Cyprian king, Aphrodite's lover, Adonis, who died when hunting a wild boar.