In bloom in March

Gladiolus

Tall spikes that open from the bottom up, grown in rows for cutting and sold in long bunches.

See also: Gladiolus tristis, Gladiolus dalenii

Tuberose (rajnigandha)

Waxy white flowers on a tall spike with a strong night scent. Sold by the stem and strung into garlands in India.

Red spider lily

Leafless red flowers with long curled stamens, along rice field banks in Japan around the autumn equinox.

See also: Red spider lily

Meadow saffron

Pale lilac goblets that come up without leaves in autumn meadows. Poisonous, and not the saffron plant.

See also: Autumn crocus, Colchicum

Dahlia

Mexico's national flower. It blooms from high summer until the first frost, and as a winter flower in Indian hill gardens.

See also: Red dahlia, Tree dahlia

Pot marigold (calendula)

Orange and yellow daisies that flower for months and are used in skin salves. A winter annual in warm countries.

Petunia

Soft trumpets in window boxes and hanging baskets all summer. Grown as a winter annual in the Indian plains.

See also: Large white petunia, Petunia × atkinsiana

Geranium (pelargonium)

Red and pink heads on balconies across Europe through summer. The plants come from South Africa.

See also: Pelargonium, Meadow Crane's-bill

Snapdragon

Spikes of two-lipped flowers that open like a mouth when squeezed. A summer flower in the north, winter in the Indian plains.

See also: Common snapdragon

Zinnia

Stiff, bright daisies from Mexico that like heat and flower until frost. They do well through the Indian monsoon.

See also: Elegant zinnia

Nasturtium

Orange, red and yellow spurred flowers over round leaves, trailing across paths. Flowers and leaves are peppery and edible.

See also: Nasturtium, Nasturtium

Canna

Red, orange and yellow flowers over broad leaves in parks and traffic islands across warm countries.

Four o'clock flower

Trumpets in pink, yellow and white, sometimes on one plant, that open in the late afternoon. Gulbakshi in India.

Marigold (genda)

Orange and yellow pompoms. The garland flower of Dussehra and Diwali in India and of the Day of the Dead in Mexico.

See also: Calendula, French marigold

Sunflower

Fields of yellow heads in high summer across Ukraine, France, Spain and the American plains. Young heads turn with the sun.

See also: Helianthus

Cosmos

Pink and white daisies on feathery stems. They fill autumn fields in Japan and Korea and roadsides in South Africa in March.

See also: Cosmos, Chocolate cosmos

Coneflower (echinacea)

Pink petals swept back from a spiky orange cone. A North American prairie plant, now in gardens everywhere.

See also: Echinacea, Purple coneflower

Cockscomb (celosia)

Velvet crests and plumes in red, orange and magenta. Sold with marigolds in Indian flower markets.

See also: Silver cock's comb

Aster (Michaelmas daisy)

Clouds of small purple, pink and white daisies at the end of the season, busy with late bees and butterflies.

See also: New England aster, Aster koraiensis

Chrysanthemum

The autumn flower of China and Japan, shown in formal displays. In Australia it is given on Mother's Day in May.

See also: Chrysanthemum japonense, Indian chrysanthemum

Champa (champak)

Slim yellow to orange flowers with a rich, fruity scent, offered in temples and worn in the hair in South and Southeast Asia.

Crape myrtle

Crinkled pink, red or white flowers through the hottest months, on street trees from the southern United States to East Asia.

See also: Crape myrtle

Parijat (night-flowering jasmine)

White flowers with orange stalks that open at dusk and fall by morning. In Bengal, shiuli on the ground means Durga Puja is near.

Rose

The main flush comes in early summer and many kinds repeat until frost. In the Indian plains roses are best in winter.

See also: Dog rose, Souvenir de la Malmaison rose

Oleander

Pink, white or red flowers on a tough roadside shrub around the Mediterranean and across India. Every part is poisonous.

Cape plumbago

Pale sky-blue clusters on a sprawling South African shrub, used for hedges in warm climates.

See also: Cape leadwort

Lantana

Small heads that shift from yellow to orange and pink, loved by butterflies. An invasive weed in India, Africa and Australia.

See also: Lantana

Hydrangea

Blue, pink or white mopheads through summer. In Japan they belong to the June rains and to temple paths.

See also: Bigleaf Hydrangea, Mountain hydrangea

Fuchsia

Hanging red and purple flowers like small lanterns, in baskets and in hedges along the Irish west coast.

See also: Fuchsia, Fuchsia fulgens

Raat ki rani (night-blooming jasmine)

Thin greenish-white tubes that look like little by day and scent a whole lane after dark.

Rose of Sharon (mugunghwa)

A hardy hibiscus with pink, white or violet flowers that each last a day. South Korea's national flower.

Butterfly bush

Long purple cones crowded with butterflies in late summer, on railway banks and waste ground as much as in gardens.

See also: Butterfly-bush

Heather

Moors in Scotland, northern England and Scandinavia turn purple in late summer. Bees make a dark, thick honey from it.

Sweet osmanthus

Tiny cream or orange flowers with an apricot scent, in Chinese gardens around the Mid-Autumn Festival. Used in tea and sweets.

Common jasmine

White starry flowers on a twining climber, scenting courtyards from Iran and Kashmir to southern Europe.

See also: Star jasmine, Arabian jasmine

Passion flower

An intricate wheel of filaments over ten petals, on a fast South American vine. Some kinds give passion fruit.

See also: Passionflower, Blue passionflower

Morning glory

Blue, purple and pink funnels that open at dawn and close by noon. A summer flower of Japanese doorways.

See also: Tall morning-glory, Mexican morning glory

Madhumalti (Rangoon creeper)

Hanging clusters that open white at dusk and turn pink, then red, over the next days. Common on Indian gates and walls.

Butterfly pea (aparajita)

Deep blue flowers on a thin vine. Used to colour rice and tea blue in Southeast Asia, and offered in puja in India.

Flame lily

Red and yellow petals swept back like flames on a climbing lily. Zimbabwe's national flower and Tamil Nadu's state flower.

See also: Wood lily

Bougainvillea

Papery magenta, orange and white bracts over walls and gates. At its fullest in dry, sunny weather.

See also: Paperflower

Copihue (Chilean bellflower)

Long, waxy red bells on an evergreen climber in the cool rainforests of southern Chile. The national flower.

Black-eyed Susan

Golden daisies with dark centres along roadsides and prairies in North America in late summer.

See also: Black-eyed Susan

Daisy

The small white and yellow lawn flower of Europe, out for most of the growing season and made into chains by children.

See also: Leucanthemum, Fleabane

Gentian

Deep blue trumpets in short alpine turf, in the Alps, the Himalaya and other high mountains.

See also: Gentiana scabra, Gentiana clusii

Hibiscus (gudhal)

Wide red flowers that last a day, on hedges all year in the tropics. Offered to Kali and Ganesha. Malaysia's national flower.

See also: Rose of Sharon, Blue mahoe

Ixora

Tight round heads of small red or orange stars on a clipped hedge. In flower through the year in the tropics.

See also: Ixora

Crossandra (kanakambaram)

Light, scentless orange flowers strung into hair garlands in South India, often together with jasmine.

Madagascar periwinkle (sadabahar)

Pink or white five-petalled flowers on a small plant that never seems to stop. Its Hindi name means always in spring.

See also: Lesser Periwinkle, Madagascar periwinkle

Yellow oleander (peeli kaner)

Yellow funnels among narrow leaves on a roadside shrub. Offered to Shiva in India. All parts are poisonous.

Peacock flower

Red and yellow flowers with long red stamens on a light, open shrub. The national flower of Barbados.

See also: Tigridia pavonia, Tigridia

Heliconia

Stacked red and yellow bracts like lobster claws among banana-like leaves, in the wet forests of tropical America.

See also: Kaka beak, Heliconia

Anthurium

A glossy red heart with a pale spike. A tropical American plant, grown for cut flowers in Hawaii and Mauritius.

See also: Flamingo Flower

Tiare (Tahitian gardenia)

A white pinwheel with a soft, sweet scent, worn behind the ear in Tahiti and the Cook Islands and steeped in coconut oil.

Frangipani (plumeria)

Waxy white, yellow and pink flowers that drop whole under the tree. Used in Hawaiian lei and Balinese offerings.

See also: Plumeria alba, Frangipani

Mogra (Arabian jasmine)

Round white buds strung into gajra for the hair in India. Sampaguita in the Philippines and melati in Indonesia.

See also: Arabian jasmine

Kewda (fragrant screwpine)

Pale, strongly scented male flower spikes of a coastal screwpine, picked in Odisha in the rains and distilled for flavouring.

See also: Pandan

Lotus

Pink or white flowers held high above round leaves in ponds and temple tanks. They open in the morning. India's national flower.

See also: Lotus, Rafflesia

Water lily

Flowers that float among flat pads on still water through summer, as in Monet's pond at Giverny.

See also: White Water-lily, Egyptian white water-lily

Star water lily (shapla)

Pointed white, pink or blue petals on flooded fields and ponds in the rains. National flower of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

See also: Blue water lily

Victoria water lily

Leaves up to three metres across. Each flower opens white at night and pink the next. Seen in summer in botanic garden pools.

See also: Amazon water-lily, Santa Cruz water lily

Vanda Miss Joaquim

A pink and violet hybrid orchid that flowers all year in full sun. Singapore's national flower.

See also: Waling-waling, Vanda falcata

Red disa

A large scarlet orchid beside streams and waterfalls on Table Mountain in the Cape summer.

See also: Disa

Desert rose (adenium)

Pink and red trumpets on a swollen grey trunk. From Africa and Arabia, and a popular pot plant in India and Thailand.

See also: Desert rose, Impala lily

Queen of the night

A big white, scented cactus flower that opens for a single night. Many Indian homes call this plant brahma kamal.

See also: Dutchman's pipe cactus