Flowers for worship and offerings
Laid before gods and shrines, strung for temples, carried in procession.
Thorn-appleDatura stramonium
A poisonous, night-blooming plant with trumpet-shaped white or violet flowers
🇨🇳 China and 7 more · Wildflower
Bay laurelLaurus nobilis
Evergreen tree with aromatic leaves used as bay leaf in cooking
🇬🇷 Greece and 9 more · Flowering tree
CarnationDianthus caryophyllus
A fragrant flower with ruffled petals, grown worldwide for decoration and meaning
🇨🇳 China and 7 more · Garden flower
Datura
A group of trumpet-shaped, highly toxic flowering plants in the nightshade family
🇲🇽 Mexico and 7 more · Wildflower
Calendula
Golden daisy-like flowers used in food, dye, and rituals
Calendula · Wildflower
Holy basilOcimum tenuiflorum
A fragrant herb central to Hindu worship and Southeast Asian cooking
🇲🇲 Myanmar and 6 more · Herb or useful flower
Blue water lilyNymphaea nouchali var. caerulea
The sky-blue water lily of ancient Egypt and African lakes
🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 more · Water flower
Ipomoea
A large group of twining plants known as morning glories and sweet potatoes
Ipomoea · Wildflower
Poppy
Bright-petalled flowers grown for gardens, seeds, and remembrance
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 7 more · Wildflower
Common rueRuta graveolens
A strong-scented Mediterranean herb with blue-green leaves and yellow flowers
🇱🇹 Lithuania and 8 more · Wildflower
Yellow ʻilimaSida fallax
A golden-yellow flower woven into Hawaiian and Pacific Island garlands
🇰🇮 Kiribati and 2 more · Wildflower
Tree marigoldTithonia diversifolia
A tall yellow-orange flower grown wild and as green manure in many warm regions
🇲🇽 Mexico and 6 more · Wildflower
Fragrant screw-pinePandanus odorifer
A small tropical tree with sweet-scented flowers used for perfume and rituals
🇮🇳 India and 4 more · Flowering tree
BrahmakamalSaussurea obvallata
A Himalayan alpine flower with papery bracts, sacred in Indian hill temples
🇮🇳 India and 4 more · Wildflower
Sweetscented marigoldTagetes lucida
A golden-flowered herb from Mexico with anise-scented leaves
🇲🇽 Mexico and 1 more · Wildflower
Sacred daturaDatura wrightii
White trumpet-shaped flower with a strong scent, sacred in Native American rites
🇺🇸 United States and 3 more · Wildflower
Wild bergamotMonarda fistulosa
A fragrant North American wildflower with pink to lavender blooms
🇺🇸 United States and 1 more · Wildflower
Florist's daisyChrysanthemum × morifolium
The many-petalled autumn bloom of gardens and floral shows
🇨🇳 China and 4 more · Garden flower
Japanese irisIris laevigata
A water-loving Japanese iris with violet-blue blooms and historic garden ties
🇯🇵 Japan and 1 more · Water flower
SaffronCrocus sativus
The crimson threads of an autumn crocus, dried for colour, flavour and scent
🇮🇷 Iran and 6 more · Bulb flower
Calla lilyZantedeschia aethiopica
A tall white-flowered wetland plant from southern Africa
🇿🇦 South Africa and 8 more · Wildflower
Flame lilyGloriosa superba
A striking red and yellow climbing flower, national emblem of Zimbabwe and Tamil Nadu
🇿🇼 Zimbabwe and 9 more · Wildflower
Chaste treeVitex agnus-castus
A Mediterranean shrub with lavender summer spikes and aromatic leaves
🇬🇷 Greece and 3 more · Flowering shrub
Autumn Lady's-tressesSpiranthes spiralis
A small white orchid with spiral flowers, blooming in late summer
🇮🇪 Ireland and 6 more · Wildflower
Yellow Himalayan fritillaryFritillaria cirrhosa
A rare Himalayan lily with bell-shaped, checkered flowers and prized medicinal bulbs
🇨🇳 China and 5 more · Wildflower
Datura metelधतूरा
A shrubby plant with trumpet-shaped flowers, grown for ornament and tradition
🇮🇳 India and 4 more · Garden flower
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Saffron: Hubertl, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Bay laurel: Forest and Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0 us, source
- Flame lily: Brian Gratwicke, CC BY 2.0, source
- Chaste tree: peganum, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Autumn Lady's-tresses: No machine-readable author provided. Jeffdelonge assumed (based on cop, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Thorn-apple: No machine-readable author provided. Taka assumed (based on copyright, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Dianthus: Darkone ( talk · contribs ), CC BY-SA 1.0, source
- Datura: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Calendula: Alvesgaspar, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Yellow Himalayan fritillary: Popolon, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Datura metel: Don McCulley, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Holy basil: Shashidhara halady, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Blue water lily: Didier Descouens, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ipomoea: Tauʻolunga, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Poppy: Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 4.0, source
- Common rue: Kurt Stüber [1], CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Yellow ʻilima: Forest & Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0, source
- Tree marigold: Thierry Caro, Public domain, source
- Fragrant screw-pine: Wibowo Djatmiko ( Wie146 ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Brahmakamal: Schwiki, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sweetscented marigold: manfred.sause@volloeko.de, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Sacred datura: Dlarsen, Public domain, source
- Wild bergamot: Hardyplants at English Wikipedia, Public domain, source
- Florist's daisy: 池田正樹 ( talk )masaki ikeda, Public domain, source
- Japanese iris: Dennis L. Lindwall, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Calla lily: Alvesgaspar, CC BY 2.5, source