In bloom in April

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

Saffron crocus

Purple flowers picked at dawn for their red threads, in the fields of Kashmir, Iran and Spain for a few weeks in autumn.

See also: Saffron

Cyclamen

Swept-back pink and white petals under trees from autumn to early spring, and in pots indoors through winter.

See also: Sowbread, Cyclamen cyprium

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

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

Canna

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

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

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

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

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.

Sasanqua camellia

The autumn camellia: smaller, often scented flowers that shed petal by petal. Much used for hedges in Japan.

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

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

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.

Sweet osmanthus

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

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.

Copihue (Chilean bellflower)

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

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

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

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