In bloom in February

Snowdrop

Small white bells that push through cold ground in late winter, often in drifts under bare trees and in old churchyards.

See also: Giant snowdrop, Snowdrop

Winter aconite

Yellow cups with a green ruff, low on the ground, flowering alongside snowdrops at the end of winter.

See also: Winter aconite

Paperwhite narcissus

Scented white narcissus grown in bowls indoors for midwinter, and a New Year flower in Chinese homes.

See also: Paperwhite narcissus

Crocus

Purple, white and yellow goblets that open in sun on lawns and in alpine meadows as the snow goes.

See also: Saffron crocus, Saffron

Daffodil

Yellow trumpets on verges, in parks and in woodland, the common sign of spring across Europe and North America.

See also: Paperwhite, Wild daffodil

Poppy anemone

Red, purple and white flowers of the eastern Mediterranean. In southern Israel the red fields draw walkers in February.

See also: Poppy anemone

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

Amaryllis

A fat bulb that sends up huge red or striped trumpets. Grown indoors for winter in the north, outdoors in spring in the south.

See also: Amaryllis, Hippeastrum

Plum blossom

Scented pink and white flowers on bare branches in late winter. The first blossom of the year in China, Korea and Japan.

Mimosa (silver wattle)

Fluffy yellow balls on feathery grey leaves. Australian, but also the winter flower of the French and Italian Riviera.

See also: Mimosa

Silk cotton tree (semal)

Big red cup flowers on a leafless, thorny tree at the end of the Indian winter. Birds crowd it for nectar.

Pink trumpet tree (tabebuia)

Pink flowers cover the bare crown in the dry season, in Central America and on avenues in Bengaluru.

See also: Tabebuia, Pink trumpet tree

Golden trumpet tree (yellow ipê)

A leafless tree turned solid yellow at the end of the dry season. A late winter sight in Brazilian towns.

See also: Golden trumpet tree, Pink trumpet tree

Almond blossom

Pale pink blossom on bare orchards, early in the year, from Mallorca and Sicily to California and Kashmir.

Palash (flame of the forest)

Orange-red flowers on bare branches across the dry forests of central and eastern India, around the time of Holi.

Kachnar (orchid tree)

Pink, mauve or white orchid-like flowers on a small tree in north Indian streets and gardens. The buds are cooked.

See also: Hong Kong orchid tree, Amherstia

Ashoka

Bunches of orange and red flowers on a small evergreen tree, planted near temples in India and Sri Lanka.

Indian coral tree

Claw-shaped scarlet flowers on bare, thorny branches at the end of the dry season, across South Asia and the Pacific.

See also: Indian coral tree

Tree rhododendron (burans)

Red flowers on whole Himalayan hillsides in spring. Nepal's national flower, and pressed into a drink in Uttarakhand.

Golden wattle

Australia's national flower: bright yellow balls at the end of winter. Wattle Day is the first of September.

See also: Sydney golden wattle, Golden wattle

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.

Witch hazel

Spidery yellow or orange ribbons on bare twigs in the coldest weeks, with a spicy scent.

Wintersweet

Small waxy yellow flowers on bare stems in midwinter, strongly scented. Called lamei in China.

Winter jasmine

Unscented yellow stars on green leafless stems, trained against walls and spilling over banks in winter.

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.

Camellia

Glossy evergreen bushes with red, pink or white flowers from late winter. The flowers drop whole.

See also: Camellia reticulata, Camellia amplexicaulis

Winter daphne

Small pink and white clusters with a scent that carries across a garden at the end of winter.

See also: Daphne

Winter heath

A low alpine heather with pink bells that flowers through snow, from the mountains of central and southern Europe.

See also: Cross-leaved Heath

Gorse

Spiny bushes covered in yellow, coconut-scented flowers on heaths and cliffs. Some is in flower in almost any month.

Flowering quince

Red, coral or white cups on thorny bare stems early in spring. Cut branches are used in East Asian arrangements.

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

Christmas rose

White saucers with yellow centres, low to the ground in the dead of winter. A hellebore, not a rose.

Hellebore (Lenten rose)

Nodding flowers in plum, pink, cream and green that last for weeks in shade from late winter.

See also: Christmas rose

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

Mustard (sarson)

Yellow fields across Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan in the north Indian winter, up to the spring festival of Basant Panchami.

See also: Brown mustard

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

Primrose

Pale yellow flowers in a low rosette on banks and in open woods, among the first wildflowers of the European spring.

See also: Japanese primrose, Primula sieboldii

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

Bougainvillea

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

See also: Paperflower

Moth orchid

Arching sprays of flat white or pink flowers that last for months. The usual pot orchid, and Indonesia's moon orchid.

See also: Phalaenopsis schilleriana, Phalaenopsis sanderiana

Cymbidium orchid

Tall spikes of waxy flowers in the cool season. Grown in the Himalayan foothills and treasured in China for centuries.

See also: Boat orchid

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

Aloe

Red and orange candles above spiky rosettes in the dry winter of southern Africa, crowded with sunbirds.

See also: Zimbabwe Aloe, Spiral aloe

Jade plant

A fleshy-leaved South African shrub that covers itself in small pink-white stars in winter when grown in sun.

Kalanchoe

Clusters of small red, orange, pink or yellow flowers over thick leaves. A pot plant from Madagascar that blooms as days are short.