Flowers for worship and offerings
Laid before gods and shrines, strung for temples, carried in procession.
Narcissus
Spring-flowering bulbs with trumpet-shaped blooms in white, yellow, and orange
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 7 more · Wildflower
Bay laurelLaurus nobilis
Evergreen tree with aromatic leaves used as bay leaf in cooking
🇬🇷 Greece and 9 more · Flowering tree
HyacinthHyacinthus
A spring-blooming bulb with fragrant, colourful flower spikes
🇹🇷 Turkey and 7 more · Bulb flower
Indian fig opuntiaOpuntia ficus-indica
A large, spiny cactus grown for its sweet fruit and edible pads
🇲🇽 Mexico and 7 more · Wildflower
Decoration
BeltaneBealtaine / Là Bealltainn / Boaltinn
The Gaelic May Day festival with bonfires and yellow flower decorations
🇮🇪 Ireland and 1 more · Custom, May
Decoration
TếtTết Nguyên Đán
Vietnam's spring new year festival with flowers, family, and lucky customs
🇻🇳 Vietnam · Custom, Jan to Feb
Decoration
Papel picado
Mexican folk art banners made by cutting designs into colored tissue paper
🇲🇽 Mexico and 1 more · Flower craft
Decoration
Rose waterگلاب
Flavoured water made by steeping or distilling rose petals
🇮🇷 Iran and 2 more · Offering or rite
Prunus mume
The fragrant plum blossom tree that blooms in winter across East Asia
🇨🇳 China and 3 more · Flowering tree
Decoration
Gosekku五節句
Five seasonal festivals once held at the Japanese imperial court
🇯🇵 Japan · Custom
Spanish broomSpartium junceum
A tall shrub with rush-like stems and fragrant yellow flowers
🇵🇪 Peru and 6 more · Flowering shrub
Royal poincianaDelonix regia
A tropical tree with bright red-orange flowers and fern-like leaves
🇲🇬 Madagascar and 8 more · Flowering tree
Moutan peonyPaeonia × suffruticosa
The woody peony of China with large, showy spring flowers
🇨🇳 China and 4 more · Flowering shrub
YellowhornXanthoceras sorbifolium
A hardy flowering tree from northern China with edible seeds and fragrant white blooms
🇨🇳 China and 2 more · Flowering tree
German irisIris × germanica
A tall, rhizome-rooted iris with showy bearded blooms in many colours
🇨🇳 China and 7 more · Garden flower
Iris florentina
A white, violet-scented iris grown for orris root and as a grave flower
🇮🇹 Italy and 7 more · Wildflower
Decoration
Hinamatsuri雛祭り
A Japanese custom of displaying ornamental dolls for girls’ well-being
🇯🇵 Japan · Offering or rite, March
Rhyncholaelia digbyana
The frilled white orchid that is Honduras’s national flower
🇭🇳 Honduras and 4 more · Orchid
Clematis paniculatapuawānanga
A white-flowered climbing vine native to New Zealand forests
🇳🇿 New Zealand · Wildflower
Decoration
Pūjā in Buddhism𑀧𑀽𑀚𑀸
A ritual offering and devotional act in Buddhist practice
🇮🇳 India and 3 more · Offering or rite
NarraPterocarpus indicus
Tall tropical tree with yellow flowers and prized rose-scented wood
🇵🇭 Philippines and 7 more · Flowering tree
Decoration
Floristry
The craft and trade of arranging and selling flowers
🇳🇱 Netherlands and 3 more · Arrangement
Crown flowerCalotropis gigantea
A tall shrub with waxy white or lavender flowers and milky sap
🇮🇳 India and 8 more · Flowering shrub
Kashmir IrisIris kashmiriana
A fragrant iris from the western Himalaya, often planted on graves in Kashmir
🇮🇳 India and 4 more · Wildflower
Yellow Himalayan fritillaryFritillaria cirrhosa
A rare Himalayan lily with bell-shaped, checkered flowers and prized medicinal bulbs
🇨🇳 China and 5 more · Wildflower
Bayur treePterospermum acerifolium
A tall Southeast Asian tree with large fragrant white flowers and dinner-plate leaves
🇲🇲 Myanmar and 2 more · Flowering tree
Decoration
Lei
A garland or necklace of flowers, leaves, or shells given to honor or celebrate
🇺🇸 United States and 3 more · Garland or wreath
Arabian jasmineJasminum sambac
A small white jasmine with a strong, sweet scent, treasured in Asia for garlands and ceremonies
🇨🇳 China and 7 more · Flowering shrub
Prunus itosakura糸桜
A long-lived wild cherry of Japan with clouds of pale flowers before the leaves
🇯🇵 Japan and 1 more · Wildflower
Decoration
Japanese garden日本庭園
A traditional garden style shaped by nature, philosophy and seasonal change
🇯🇵 Japan · Garden style
Monja blancaLycaste skinneri
Guatemala's national orchid, pure white and rare
🇬🇹 Guatemala and 3 more · Orchid
Decoration
Kolamகோலம்
South Indian geometric floor art made with rice flour or powder at home entrances
🇮🇳 India and 5 more · Carpet or floor pattern
Decoration
Gudi Padwa
The spring new year festival of Maharashtra, marked by flower-adorned gudis and rangoli
🇮🇳 India · Custom
Decoration
Ugadiఉగాది / ಯುಗಾದಿ
South Indian New Year marked by flowers, rangoli, and mango leaf decorations
🇮🇳 India and 2 more · Custom, Mar to Apr
Decoration
Vishuവിഷു
Malayali New Year marked by auspicious flowers, food, and family customs
🇮🇳 India · Custom, April
Decoration
Songkranสงกรานต์
The Thai New Year marked by water rituals and festive gatherings in April
🇹🇭 Thailand · Custom, April
Decoration
Vesak
The Buddhist festival marking the Buddha’s birth, enlightenment, and passing
🇱🇰 Sri Lanka and 7 more · Custom, Apr to Jun
Brugmansia
Tropical South American shrub with large, trumpet-shaped, fragrant flowers
Brugmansia · Garden flower
Decoration
Buddha's Birthday佛诞
A festival marking the birth of Gautama Buddha, celebrated across Asia in spring
🇮🇳 India and 3 more · Custom, Apr to May
Decoration
Palm Sunday
Christian festival with palms or local branches marking Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem
🇮🇳 India and 1 more · Custom
Decoration
Floralia
Ancient Roman spring festival for the goddess Flora, marked by games and floral rites
Custom, Apr to May
Decoration
Mothering Sunday
A British day for honouring mothers and the mother church, marked with violets and cake
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 more · Custom, Mar to Apr
Ixora
Tropical evergreen shrubs with clusters of small, bright flowers
🇮🇳 India and 4 more · Garden flower
Decoration
Qingming Festival清明节
The Chinese spring festival for honoring ancestors with tomb sweeping and offerings
🇨🇳 China and 7 more · Custom, April
Decoration
Haft-sinهفتسین
A table of seven symbolic items for Nowruz, the Persian New Year
🇮🇷 Iran · Arrangement, March
Decoration
Nowruzنوروز
Spring New Year festival marked by fire, greenery, and festive gatherings
🇮🇷 Iran and 9 more · Custom, March
Poppy
Bright-petalled flowers grown for gardens, seeds, and remembrance
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 7 more · Wildflower
Decoration
Hıdırellez
Spring festival marking the meeting of Hızır and İlyas, celebrated on May 5–6
🇹🇷 Turkey and 8 more · Custom, May
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Beltane: Stefan Schäfer, Lich, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Tết: vi:Lưu Ly, Public domain, source
- Papel picado: Ferfive, CC BY 4.0, source
- Rose water: E4024, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Prunus mume: Kakidai, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Gosekku: Kakizaki Hakyo, Public domain, source
- Bay laurel: Forest and Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0 us, source
- Spanish broom: Hans Hillewaert, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Royal poinciana: Averette, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Moutan peony: C.Stadler/Bwag, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Yellowhorn: Joseph Dalton Hooker (1817-1911), Public domain, source
- German iris: Za, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Iris florentina: Abrahami, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Hinamatsuri: Lalupa, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Rhyncholaelia digbyana: Felix, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Clematis paniculata: Avenue, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Narcissus: Uberprutser, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Hyacinth: The wub, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Pūjā in Buddhism: Luca Galuzzi ( Lucag ), CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Prickly pear: JMK, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Narra: Ping an Chang, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Floristry: Joachimj, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Crown flower: Aris riyanto, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kashmir Iris: Yercaud-elango, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Yellow Himalayan fritillary: Popolon, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bayur tree: J.M.Garg, CC BY 3.0, source
- Lei: possibly Fernando Le Bleux, Public domain, source
- Arabian jasmine: Taken by Fanghong, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Prunus itosakura: Alpsdake, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Japanese garden: 663highland, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Monja blanca: Walter Hood Fitch (1817 - 1892), illustrator, Robert Warner (1814-1896, Public domain, source
- Kolam: mckaysavage, CC BY 2.0, source
- Gudi Padwa: Abhijit Tembhekar, CC BY 2.0, source
- Ugadi: Kalyan Kanuri, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Vishu: Vishnu Kunnathully, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Songkran: ผู้สร้างสรรค์ผลงาน/ส่งข้อมูลเก็บในคลังข้อมูลเสรีวิกิมีเดียคอมมอนส์ - เ, CC BY 3.0, source
- Vesak: ผู้สร้างสรรค์ผลงาน/ส่งข้อมูลเก็บในคลังข้อมูลเสรีวิกิมีเดียคอมมอนส์ - เ, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Brugmansia: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Buddha's Birthday: User: (WT-shared) Manoj nav at wts wikivoyage, Public domain, source
- Palm Sunday: Pietro Lorenzetti, Public domain, source
- Floralia: Prospero Piatti and workshop, Public domain, source
- Mothering Sunday: Jonathunder, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ixora: Wilfredor, CC0, source
- Qingming Festival: Jacklee ., CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Haft-sin: HengamehRM, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Nowruz: Katzenfee50, CC0, source
- Poppy: Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 4.0, source
- Hıdırellez: Правительство Республики Крым, CC BY 4.0, source