Browse every name in Plant & Flower Names, or use the generator to discover one at random.

Flowers, trees, and herbs, and how they got their names.

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• A
• Acacia
  thorny tree (probable)
• Anemone
  windflower
• Aster
  star
• Azalea
  dry (a reference to the shrub's preferred growing conditions)
• B
• Baobab
  possibly 'fruit of many seeds'
• Begonia
  named in honor of Michel Begon
• Bluebell
  the blue, bell-shaped flower
• Bougainvillea
  named for the explorer whose expedition first documented it
• C
• Camellia
  named in honor of Georg Kamel
• Chrysanthemum
  golden flower
• Cosmos
  order, beauty
• Crocus
  saffron
• D
• Daffodil
  uncertain; the modern form likely grew out of 'de affodil' merging into one word
• Dahlia
  named in honor of Anders Dahl
• Dandelion
  lion's tooth
• E
• Edelweiss
  noble white
• Eucalyptus
  well-covered
• F
• Foxglove
  glove shaped like a fox's paw (folk interpretation)
• Frangipani
  named for the family that developed a similarly scented perfume
• G
• Gardenia
  named in honor of Alexander Garden
• Geranium
  crane
• Ginseng
  man root, referencing the plant's human-like forked shape
• Gladiolus
  little sword
• H
• Heather
  uncertain; the word's deeper roots are not firmly established
• Hibiscus
  marsh mallow
• Honeysuckle
  the plant whose nectar can be sucked out
• Hyacinth
  named for the mythological figure Hyakinthos
• Hydrangea
  water vessel
• I
• Iris
  named in honor of Iris
• J
• Jasmine
  gift from God
• Juniper
  uncertain; a Celtic root meaning roughly 'rough' or 'coarse' has been proposed
• K
• Kudzu
  kudzu (the vine)
• L
• Larkspur
  spur shaped like a lark's claw
• Lavender
  the washing plant
• Lilac
  bluish (describing the flower's pale purple blooms)
• Lobelia
  named in honor of Matthias de l'Obel
• Lotus
  the lotus plant
• M
• Magnolia
  named in honor of Pierre Magnol
• Marigold
  Mary's gold
• Mistletoe
  dung twig (per an old folk belief about how the plant spreads)
• N
• Narcissus
  named for the mythological figure Narcissus
• Nasturtium
  twisted nose
• O
• Oleander
  uncertain; the name may describe a resemblance to olive leaves
• Orchid
  testicle (a reference to the shape of the plant's root tubers)
• P
• Pansy
  thought
• Peony
  named for the divine healer Paeon
• Petunia
  tobacco
• Plumeria
  named for the botanist who documented it
• Poinsettia
  named in honor of Joel Poinsett
• Poppy
  poppy
• Primrose
  first rose
• Q
• Quince
  named for Cydonia, where the fruit was especially prized in antiquity
• R
• Rhododendron
  rose tree
• Rosemary
  dew of the sea
• S
• Saffron (plant)
  the saffron crocus and its dried stigmas
• Sage
  healing plant
• Snapdragon
  the flower that 'snaps' like a dragon's mouth
• T
• Thistle
  thistle
• Tulip
  turban (a reference to the flower's shape)
• V
• Verbena
  sacred foliage
• Violet
  violet (the flower)
• W
• Wisteria
  named in honor of Caspar Wistar
• Y
• Ylang-ylang
  popularly translated as 'flower of flowers'
• Yucca
  cassava (applied by mistake)
• Z
• Zinnia
  named in honor of Johann Gottfried Zinn