In bloom in November

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

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.

Wild Himalayan cherry

A cherry that blossoms pink in autumn, not spring. Shillong in north-east India holds its blossom festival in November.

Hong Kong orchid tree

Large purple-red flowers through the cooler months. The flower on the flag of Hong Kong.

African tulip tree

Clusters of orange-red cups at the top of a tall tree. From tropical Africa, planted across warm cities.

Poinsettia

The red parts are leaves around tiny flowers. A pot plant at Christmas, and a tall winter shrub in Mexico and Indian hill towns.

Sasanqua camellia

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

King protea

South Africa's national flower: a bowl of pink bracts as wide as a dinner plate, on Cape mountain slopes.

See also: Bot River protea, Protea

Pansy

Flat faces in purple, yellow and white. A cool-season bedding flower, through winter in mild places and the Indian plains.

See also: Sweet Violet, Wild Pansy

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

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

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.

Bird of paradise

Orange and blue flowers shaped like a crested bird's head. From South Africa, and planted all over Los Angeles.

See also: Giant white bird of paradise

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.

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.

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

Christmas cactus

A Brazilian forest cactus with flat, jointed stems and pink or red flowers, kept as a house plant that blooms as days shorten.