The British Isles is blessed with many beautiful native flowers, and over the centuries, some of them have been adopted as a national symbol of the four nations. Here’s a look at the story behind each one of the national flowers.

The English Rose

The Tudor rose is the national floral emblem of England and it takes its name from the House of Tudor. The rose was adopted as an emblem after the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, when Henry VII of the House of Lancaster conquered the House of York to take the crown from Richard III.

The Tudor rose combines the red rose of the House of Lancaster with the white rose of the House of York, to symbolise peace between the two houses. The civil war has since been dubbed ‘The War of the Roses’. The rose motif is now widely used on coats of arms and sporting badges.

The Welsh Daffodil

The distinctive yellow daffodil is synonymous with Wales, although historians can’t agree on exactly why or how this came to be. The issue is further confused because the leek is also a national symbol of Wales, and the Welsh name for daffodil (cenninen pedr) translates to ‘St Peter’s leek.’

The daffodil is traditionally worn in Wales to mark St David’s Day on 1 March, the 6th century patron saint who founded a monastery in Pembrokeshire. This is now the site of the ancient St David’s cathedral. As early March coincides with the first spring blooming of the daffodil, this may be a simple explanation for its adoption as the national flower.

The Scottish Thistle

The spiky violet thistle is the national flower of Scotland, and again there seems to be no clear explanation of the reason for this. One of the most famous versions of the origin story is that of the Norse invaders launched an early dawn ambush on sleeping Scottish soldiers in Glen Coe.

The Norse army were barefoot for extra stealthiness, but unfortunately this tactic backfired when one of the soldiers trod on a prickly thistle and cried out in pain. The sleeping Scots were woken and the ambush failed.

Whatever the real reasons, the thistle began to be used as a national Scottish emblem from the 15th century onwards.

The Irish Shamrock

The shamrock is a three-leaved plant that is usually green, although it can also be purple or white. It is sometimes confused with the clover, and they are a species of the same plant genus. However, a shamrock will always have three leaves, whereas clover can occasionally have four.

It is the national plant of both Northern and the Republic of Ireland, because of its associations with St Patrick. The three leaf distinction is important because it has a religious meaning, representing the Holy Trinity of the father, the son, and the Holy Spirit.

If you are looking for a beautiful gift that celebrates our national flowers, you may like to consider a hand carved love spoon with a decorative handle.