Roses, Daisies, Tulips, Orchids, Carnations.

The Secret Language of Flowers

Have you ever heard a sunflower speak? A carnation chatter? A tulip talk?

There may not be such a thing as a talking flower, but they communicate all the same. In fact, they've been used for centuries by lovers who wished to send messages to their sweethearts.

In the Victorian era, lovers exchanged flowers to express risqué or raw feelings that were not considered proper to talk about in social settings.

Flowers really are the language of the love. Their sweet aromas, delicate petals and vibrant colors make them an easy way to express love and adoration.

While many flowers carry a traditional message, such as red roses conveying the message of "I love you," you don't have to follow standard customs when you present a bouquet to your beloved. Next time you're giving flowers, consider what they're saying, or be spontaneous and make up your own meaning by attaching a card or poem.

Name: Roses
What the flowers say: Red – I love you. White – I'm worthy, eternal love. Yellow – Friendship
What we say: You really can't go wrong by giving roses. They're popular on Valentine's Day, but any woman or guy will enjoy them any day of the year. A mix of white and red roses means unity, and the classic single-stem rose without thorns signifies love at first sight.

Name: Daisies
What the flowers say: Innocent love, loyal love
What we say: These are bright all-purpose flowers. They're always in season, inexpensive and smell great. You'll reap the benefits of presenting a surprise handful for many days.

Name: Tulips
What the flowers say: Declaration of love, perfect lover
What we say: Coming in a variety of colors – red, yellow, orange, and everything in-between – tulips ignite feelings of intense love and passion.

Name: Orchids
What the flowers say: Love, beautiful lady, you are beautiful
What we say: With more than 25,000 varieties and a spectrum of colors, these exotic flowers express a universal message of love, wisdom and thoughtfulness. The paphiopedilum orchid was named after Phaphos, a temple on Cyprus where legend says that Aphrodite, the goddess of love, was worshipped.

Name: Carnations
What the flowers say: Pink – I'll never forget you. Red – My heart aches for you, admiration
What we say: This is the flower for bouquets. Second to the rose as the lover's flower, a handful of these, with a mix of colors, will surely win her heart. Some historians believe these were the flowers used as Greek ceremonial crowns.

Flowers never lose their appeal because of their infinite diversity and color arrangements. And just as the type of flowers have certain meaning, the color of the buds and petals have their own language as well.

• Reds usually convey love, passion and courage.
• Pinks are more graceful and gentle. They denote inner confidence or thankfulness.
• Yellows inspire happiness, joy and friendship.
• Whites tend to signify spiritual love and purity. They also carry a heavenly silence with them.
• Peach/oranges ignite desire, enthusiasm and fascination.
• Purples show faithfulness or hope. They also can be a sign of enchantment and love at first sight.

In a recent national survey, the Society of American Florists, found that more than one-third of people said they would enjoy getting flowers for "no special occasion" and use flowers to express everyday love for their partners.

So whether you're showing how much you care – or if you're trying to make up for being late – don't wait for a special occasion. The simple act of giving flowers says "I'm thinking of you."

ADENIUM

Adenium is a genus of Flowering plants in the family Apocynaceae, containing a single species, Adenium obesum, also known as Sabi Star, Kudu or Desert-rose. It is native to tropical and subtropical eastern and southern Africa and Arabia.

It is an evergreen succulent shrub in tropical climates and semi-deciduous to deciduous in colder climates, is also dependant on the particular species. Growing to 1-3 m in height, with pachycaull stems and a stout, swollen basal caudex. The leavesare spirally arranged, clustered toward the tips of the shoots, simple entire, leathery in texture, 5-15 cm long and 1-8 cm broad. The flowers are tubular, 2-5 cm long, with the outer portion 4-6 cm diameter with five petals, resembling those of other related genera such as Plumeria and Nerium. The flowers tend to red and pink, often with a whitish blush outward of the throat.

Several regional subspecies occur:

• Adenium obesum subsp. boehmianum.Namibia, Angola.
• Adenium obesum subsp. obesum. Arabia.
• Adenium obesum subsp. oleifolium.South Africa, Botswana.
• Adenium obesum subsp. socotranum.Socotra.
• Adenium obesum subsp. somalense. Eastern Africa.
• Adenium obesum subsp. swazicum. Eastern South Africa.
• Adenium Arabicum subsp. Arabicum.Thailand.
• Adenium Arabicum subsp. Thai Socotranum.

Adenium is a popular housplant in temperate regions. It requires a sunny location and a minimum indoor temperature in winter of 10 °C. It thrives on a Xenicwatering regime as required by cacti. Adenium is typically propagated by seed or stem cuttings. The numerous hybrids are propagated mainly by grafting onto seedling rootstock. While plants grown from seed are more likely to have the swollen caudex at a young age, with time many cutting-grown plants cannot be distinguished from seedlings.

The plant exudes a highly toxic sap which is used by some peoples, such as the Akie in Tanzania, to coat arrow-tips for hunting.

Due to its resemblance to plumeria, and the fact that it was introduced to the Philippines from Bangkok, Thailand, the plant was also called as Bangkok kalachuchi in the Philippines.

Ginger Flower

Do you ever hear The ginger flower???

The Ginger flower a family (Zingiberaceae) is made up of a large group of tropical herbs. Most gingers are native to the fields and rain forests of Indo-Malaysia. The family, ever changing, consists of about 45 genra and around 700 species. The edible gingers have forever been items of commerce. Some are grown for their roots and sold in Hawaiian markets. Others such as cardamom have been used as flavoring though out the world and in India for millennia. Turmeric is another which is used in curry powder and as a yellow dye. Trade of ginger was developed first in Indonesian and along the coasts of the Indian Ocean. Later, other cultures discovered them. Gourmets in the Mediterranean area became well acquainted with them. Even the early Greek and Roman writings have recorded the use of ginger as a spice. Today our international cuisine has a constant demand on this wonderful spice.
Although more popularly known as a spice the flower of gingers are one of the more widely used tropical plants. Their bright red flowers can be seen during festival times in the South Pacific as colorful dresses. Bracts are also made into stunning leis (garlands) such as in Samoa where the red ginger lei is worn by royalty in important ceremonies. Shell gingers are also quite attractive and are well used in flower arrangements. Many gingers have medicinal uses from helping asthma to relieving stomach aches. Others gingers are used as perfumes and some are thought to have a supernatural values in casing away evil spirits. Also the Hawaiians used the foamy flower heads of the variegated wild ginger for shampooing hair and quenching thirst.
The family name Zingiberaceae comes from the Greek word ziniberi which probably evolved from an ancient Indian name for ginger. In Malaysia you may hear it known as inchiver, which comes from inchi meaning root, another word stemming from the same Indian word the Greeks borrowed. 'Awapuhi is the Hawaiian term for all the gingers. Individual plant names are also quite interesting such as the yellows ginger's Sanskrit name gandasuli or fragrance of the princess. Or the torch ginger's Hawaiian name 'Awapuhi-ko'oko'o which means walking-stick ginger.

Encephalartos

Hi Guys, Do you know about Enchephalartos? Enchephalartos is the flower is kind of Genus. The Genus Enchephalartos is possibly and a number of others yet to be named. It is restricted to African continent with more than half the species occuring in South Africa. A significant number of species occur in the tropical regions of Central africa and East Africa and these have been the subject of much recent study, with new species still being discovered in remote areas. while some spesies of Encephalartos have a fairly wide distribution, others are remarkably localised and few are known to be restricted to a single river system or even a solitary hill.

The Genus Encephalartos was described by The Jerman botanist Johann Georg Christian Lehmann in 1834. The generic name, composed from the Greek words en, 'in', cephale, 'a head, and artos, 'bread, refers to the farinaceous, starchy material in the trunks of some species which is usedfor food by local native tribes.
Species of encephalartos can be recognised by their non articulate leaflets which are often spiny. other useful features include :

1. the suckering and clumping habitat
2. unarmed petionels and rhachises
3. chataphylls with deccurent bases pressent on the cone peduncles
4. seeds attached directly to the sphorophylls
5. the sphoronphylls of both sexes lack any homs or projections.

Habitat from Genus Enchepalartos are frequently found growing among rocks in mountainous regions but are also known from the lowlands, including coastal and near coastal scrubs. many species grow in open situations among grass but some favour the shelter of forests which may be sparse to dense. heavy frosts and snow, common occurres in the mountabious districts where the soulthem species grow, are unknown in the tropical and subtropical regions further north where the summers are hot and humid and the winters mild. A general rule ,most species of Enchephalartos adapt very well to cultivation. The majority of species prefer to grow in conditions of bright light or full sun but there are a few which require shade.

The majority of species of enchepalartos are primarily propagated from seed which should be sown soon after maturity. These take about twelve to eighteen months to germinate. Most species produce basal suckers and these can be transplanted readily if due care is given to carefull removal from the parent plant. A few species produce offsets from the trunk and these can also be used successfully for propagation. Although they lack roots these portions can be induced to grow if handled carefully.