The Stories Behind Flower Names

“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet” - the words uttered by Juliet to Romeo in Shakespeare’s famous romantic tragedy about the ill-fated lovers was originally a metaphor for the profound but forbidden love between two rival families. However, on a far more literal level the playwright also raised an interesting point about how flowers came to possess their names! Unfortunately for Shakespeare, since we have more of an interest in sun-kissed flowers than star-crossed lovers that’s exactly the area we have chosen to explore.

What we found was intriguing, with many flowers taking their names from myths and legends of the past - some with slightly more unusual origins than others (we’re looking at you orchid!). So if you’ve ever wondered where flower names stemmed from (pun most definitely intended), check out the fascinating stories behind the common and scientific names of the worlds most popular flowers in our infographic below!