37 Varieties of Golden Flower Tea
There are multiple varieties of Camellia chrysantha, a species known for its golden-yellow flowers and valued for both ornamental and medicinal purposes. While the exact number of varieties can be…
Indeed, the types of flowers are vast and diverse, not only including flowering plants, but also mosses and ferns. Their cultivation and application methods are also varied. Therefore, there are many ways to classify flowers depending on the criteria used.
This classification method is based on the life form and ecological habits of flower plants and is most widely used.
These are the plants that complete their entire growth process under natural conditions, without the need for protected cultivation. Open-air flowers can be divided into three types according to their life history.
(1) Annual flowers
Plants that complete their life history within a growing season. From sowing to flowering, fruiting, and dying, all take place within one growing season.
Generally, they are sown in spring, grow in summer and autumn, flower and bear fruit, and then die.
Therefore, annual flowers are also called spring-sown flowers. Examples include Cosmos, Celosia, Zinnia, Impatiens, and Chrysanthemums.
(2) Biennial flowers
Flowers that complete their life history in two growing seasons. They only grow vegetative organs in the first year and flower, bear fruit, and die in the second year. These kinds of flowers are usually sown in the autumn and bloom in the spring of the next year.
Therefore, these kinds of flowers are often called autumn-sown flowers. Examples include China Pink, Viola, Ornamental Kale, and Dahlia.
(3) Perennial flowers
Those with a lifespan of more than two years, capable of flowering and fruiting multiple times. According to the changes in the form of the underground part, it can be divided into two categories:
⑴ Perennial flowers: the underground part is normal, not metamorphic. Such as Peony, Hosta, and Daylily.
⑵ Bulbous flowers: the underground part is abnormally enlarged. According to its metamorphic shape, it is divided into five categories:
① Bulbous plants, with a fish scale-like underground stem. Those with papery outer skin are called tunicate bulbs, such as Daffodils, Tulips, and Hippeastrum. Those without outer skin are called non-tunicate bulbs, such as Lilies.
② Cormous plants. The underground stem is spherical or flat-spherical, with a leathery outer skin. Such as Iris and Crocus.
③ Rhizomatous plants. The underground stem is enlarged and root-like, with obvious nodes on it, and new buds are born at the top of the branches, such as Banana, Lotus, Water Lily, and Hosta.
④ Tuberous plants. The underground stem is irregularly lumpy or rod-shaped, such as Caladium, Amaryllis, Empress Tree, and Evening Primrose.
⑤ Tuberculous plants. The main root is enlarged and lumpy, and the root system grows from the end of the tuberous root, such as Dahlia.
(4) Aquatic flowers
Flowers that grow in water or marshlands, such as Water Lilies and Lotus.
(5) Rock flowers
These are drought-resistant and suitable for cultivation in rock gardens. They are often used in gardens. Generally, they are perennial or sub-shrubs with woody bases, and also include shade-loving flowers such as ferns.
These refer to flowers native to tropical, subtropical, and warm southern regions. In cold northern regions, they must be cultivated in greenhouses, or need to be protected in greenhouses for overwintering during winter.
They can be divided into the following categories:
⒈. Annual and Biennial Flowers
Examples include China Aster, Gomphrena, and Sweet Pea.
⒉. Perennial Flowers
Such as Gerbera, Clivia and others.
⒊. Bulbous Flowers
Such as Hippeastrum, Amaryllis, Paulownia, Caladium, Colocasia and others.
⒋. Orchidaceae Plants
According to their ecological habits, they can be divided into:
⑴ Terrestrial Orchids: Such as Cymbidium, Allium, and Gladiolus.
⑵ Epiphytic Orchids: Such as Dendrobium, Phalaenopsis, Paphiopedilum and others.
⒌. Succulent Plants
These refer to plants with well-developed water storage tissues in the stem and leaves, and appear as thick and juicy metamorphosis. Including Cactaceae, Crassulaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Asteraceae, Bromeliaceae, Agavaceae and other families of plants.
⒍. Ferns
Based on different ways of viewing, they can be divided into the following four categories:
⑴ Garden Ferns. Such as Adiantum, Cyathea. Cyathea, also known as Tree Fern, is the largest fern, can reach more than 10 meters high.
It is an ancient group, endangered in China, and a first-class protected plant in China. In addition, Salvinia, Ludwigia are good materials for water surface greening.
⑵ Potted Ornamental Ferns. Such as Asplenium, Onychium, Phyllitis, Nephrolepis and others. Among them, Asplenium, Nephrolepis, and Pteris are important materials for cutting flower arrangements.
⑶ Hanging Ferns. Such as Nephrolepis, Asplenium.
⑷ Rockery Potted Ferns. Such as Selaginella, Pteris. Among them, Pteris is the smallest in shape among ferns, only a few centimeters in size.
7. Carnivorous Plants
Such as Nepenthes, Utricularia and others. In some floral art, they are often used as artistic flower arrangement materials.
8. Pinguicula Plants
Such as Pinguicula, Butterwort and others.
9. Palmae Plants
Such as Fan Palm, Chamaedorea, Miniature Coconut and other ornamental foliage flowers.
10. Flowering Shrubs
Such as Bougainvillea, Photinia.
11. Aquatic Flowers
Such as Victoria, Tropical Water Lily and others.
These are annual and biennial open-air flowers that can be used to arrange flower beds.
For example, flowers that bloom in spring include Pansies and Carnations; those for summer flower beds often include Impatiens and Daisies; in autumn, one can choose Iresine, Chrysanthemums, and Aster; and in winter, the flower bed can be appropriately arranged with Ornamental Kale.
These are potted flowers used to decorate indoors and gardens. Examples include Begonia, Hibiscus, Aspidistra, Bougainvillea, and Kumquat.
These are a category of flowers that undergo the dark reaction process of photosynthesis via the C4 pathway.
Generally, foliage plants can serve as indoor ornamental flowers. Examples include Money Tree, Dracaena fragrans, Ficus, Spider Plant, and Coleus.
⑴ Perennials: Such as Gerbera, Gypsophila, and Strelitzia.
⑵ Bulbous: Lily, Tulip, Hippeastrum, Dendrobium, and others.
⑶ Woody Cut Flowers: Such as Peach Blossom, Plum Blossom, Peony, Rosa chinensis, Roses, and others.
These are primarily determined by the part being viewed. Such as Ficus, Iron Tree, Ferns, and others.
In garden design, these are flowers that grow under pavilions and trees. Lilyturf, Bloodleaf, and Ferns can all serve as shade flowers.
These flowers need ample sunlight to bloom and are called sun-loving flowers. They are suitable for growing under full light and strong light.
If the light is insufficient, they will not grow well, flower late or not at all, and the flower color will not be bright, and the scent will not be strong. Sun-loving flowers include:
(1) Spring Flowers:
Plum blossom, Daffodil, Forsythia, Peach blossom, Helleborus, Magnolia, Malus spectabilis, Begonia, Peony, Lilac, Rosa chinensis, Rose, Cercis chinensis, Weigela, Forsythia, Rhododendron, Hippeastrum, Hyacinth, Tulip, Hippeastrum, Chrysanthemum, Geranium, Primula, China Aster, Morning Glory, Poppy, Goldfish Grass, Prunus subhirtella, etc.
(2) Summer and Autumn Flowers:
Gardenia, Jasmine, Michelia, Star Jasmine, Night-blooming Jasmine, Osmanthus, Magnolia grandiflora, Hibiscus, Hibiscus syriacus, Lagerstroemia indica, Nerium oleander, Plumeria, Pineapple flower, Bauhinia, Dahlia, Portulaca grandiflora, Banana, Sunflower, Hollyhock, Plumeria rubra, Plumeria alba, Hemerocallis, Chrysanthemum, Celosia, Zinnia, Daisy, Chrysanthemum, Lotus, Water Lily, etc.
(3) Winter Flowers:
Wintersweet, Bougainvillea, Silver Willow, Camellia, Orchid, etc.
(4) Fruit Trees:
Papaya, Ginkgo, Pomegranate, Kumquat, Orange, Grape, Loquat, Jujube, Persimmon, Kiwi, Fig, Strawberry, Pyracantha, Coral Bush, etc.
(5) Vines:
Wisteria, Morning Glory, Rose, Honeysuckle, Honeysuckle, Ivy, Morning Glory, Nephrolepis, etc.
(6) Foliage:
Japanese Black Pine, Pinus thunbergii, Juniperus chinensis, Cedar, Platycladus, Casuarina, Willow, Maple, Palm, Buxus, Rubber Tree, Cycas, Dracaena draco, Banana, Euonymus, Phytolacca, Colorful Grass, etc.
(7) Succulents:
Cactus, Aloe Vera, Echinocactus, Mammillaria, Lithops, Epiphyllum, etc.
Examples include Peony, Chinese Peony, Balloon Flower, Morning Glory, Ophiopogon japonicus, Celosia, Impatiens, Lily, Fritillaria, and Dendrobium. In addition, Honeysuckle, Chrysanthemum, and Lotus are all common Chinese medicinal materials.
Fragrant flowers have wide applications in food and light industry. For instance, Osmanthus can be used as food flavoring and brewing, Jasmine and Gardenia can be used to scent tea, Chrysanthemum can be made into high-end food and dishes, Gardenia, Rose, Daffodil, and Wintersweet can be extracted for their essential oils.
Rose oil extracted from roses is known as “liquid gold” in the international market, with a value higher than gold. A single rose bud can be worth six cents in the market.
These are flowers whose leaves or blossoms can be eaten directly. For example, Lilies can be used as cut flowers and can also be eaten; Chrysanthemum buds and Daylilies can be used as green seedlings and can also be edible.
Also known as the continental east coast climate type. This climate type can be further divided into warm and cool types based on winter temperature:
Warm Type (Low Latitude Areas)
Examples: Chinese Daffodil, Chinese Carnation, Camellia, Rhododendron, Lily, etc.
Cool Type (High Latitude Areas)
Examples: Chrysanthemum, Chinese Peony, Pouch Peony, Stick-stemmed Apple.
Also known as the continental west coast climate type, examples: Pansies, Daisy, Ornamental Kale, Violet. These types of flowers are usually grown as biennials in our region, seeded in summer and autumn and blooming in the following spring.
These areas are dry in summer, and many perennial flowers form bulbs. For example: Hyacinth, Small Orchid, Tulip, Lycoris, Oxalis, etc.
Also known as the tropical highland climate type, which is found in tropical and subtropical highland areas. Yunnan Province in China also belongs to this type.
The flowers native to this climate include: Gerbera, Begonia, Marigold, Yunnan Camellia, and Roses.
Flowers native to the tropics need to be grown in greenhouses in temperate climates. Annual flowers can be grown during the frost-free period:
These areas are mostly barren deserts, mainly populated by succulent plants.
Mainly distributed in Alaska, Siberia and other areas. The climate in these areas has long, harsh winters and short, cool summers. The plant growing season is only 2-3 months.
Due to the long daylight hours and strong winds in the summer, plants are short and grow slowly, often forming cushion shapes. The main flowers include: Fine-leaved Lily, Gentiana, and Snow Lotus.
These are classified into tropical flowers, temperate flowers, cold zone flowers, alpine flowers, aquatic flowers, lithophytic flowers, and desert flowers.
The term “flower” can be narrowly or broadly defined. In the narrow sense, “flowers” refer to herbaceous plants with ornamental value, such as chrysanthemums and impatiens.
In the broad sense, “flowers” refer to plants that are ornamental in terms of flowers, stems, leaves, fruits, or roots in terms of shape or color.
Therefore, the broad definition of flowers not only includes herbaceous plants, but also trees, shrubs, vines, and ground cover plants.
Examples include cacti, sedums, jade plants, crown of thorns, sansevieria, aloe, and portulaca. These flowers adapt to dry and hot growing environments.
Their leaves often undergo morphological changes, some even degenerate, and the plant structure can store water, thus they can withstand drought. When watering these plants, it is necessary to water less and maintain a slightly dry potting soil to avoid root or stem rot.
Examples include plum blossoms, camellias, rhododendrons, wintersweets, geraniums, asparagus, and pines.
These plants’ leaves are often grassy or waxy, or the branches and leaves are needle-like. When watering, it is necessary to water thoroughly only when the surface soil of the pot is completely dry.
Most types of flowers belong to this type. Examples include pomegranates, roses, jasmines, hibiscus, milan, cranesbill, hippeastrum, ornamental bamboo, biennial flowers, and perennial flowers.
They grow well in moist soil, but poorly in overly wet or dry soil. Therefore, the principle of “water when dry, water until wet” should be followed when watering.
Examples include Aspidistra elatior, windmill grass, lotus, tiger’s ear grass, bulrush, turtle back bamboo, and ornamental ferns. They require a large amount of water for their growth and development.
Therefore, the principle of “prefer wet to dry” should be followed when watering, but stagnant water should be avoided as it often causes leaf wilt and injury.
Examples include lotus, water lily, spatterdock, etc. Their roots or stems must be in water to survive. Therefore, conditions must be created to meet their needs.
Different flowers have different biological characteristics. They have different requirements for environmental conditions such as light, temperature, and moisture. They are often classified into the following four types based on these differences.
i) Sun-loving Flowers
Most flowers, such as roses, jasmine, and pomegranates, need abundant sunlight, and these are known as sun-loving flowers.
If the light is insufficient, they will have poor growth and development, delayed or no blooming, and the color of the flowers will not be bright, and the fragrance will not be strong.
ii) Shade-tolerant Flowers
Flowers like Hosta, Hydrangea, and Rhododendron, which can grow well with weak, scattered light, are known as shade-tolerant flowers. If they are often exposed to the sun, they will not grow and develop properly.
i) Cold-resistant Flowers
Flowers like roses, marigold, carnation, and pomegranate can generally withstand short-term low temperatures of -3 to -5°C, and they can overwinter outdoors in winter.
ii) Warmth-loving Flowers
Flowers like Dahlia, Banana, and Begonia generally need to grow under humidity conditions of 15-30°C. They are not resistant to low temperatures and need to overwinter indoors at higher temperatures in winter.
i) Long-day Flowers
Flowers like Gomphrena and Chrysanthemum need more than 12 hours of daylight each day, and these are known as long-day flowers. If this specific condition is not met, they will not bud and bloom.
ii) Short-day Flowers
Flowers like Chrysanthemum and Kalanchoe need less than 12 hours of daylight each day. After a period of time, they will bud and bloom. If the daylight time is too long, they will not bud and bloom.
iii) Neutral Flowers
Flowers like Geranium, Carnation, Begonia, and Rose are not sensitive to the length of daylight each day. Whether it’s under long or short daylight conditions, they will normally bud and bloom. These are known as neutral flowers.
i) Aquatic Flowers
Flowers like Water Lily must live in water to grow and develop normally. These are known as aquatic flowers. With the development of science and technology, water-cultivated flowers are emerging and developing in the Chinese market.
Water-cultivated flowers are a new generation of high-tech agricultural projects formed by using modern biotechnology, physical, chemical, and bioengineering means to domesticate ordinary plants and flowers, allowing them to grow in water for a long period.
ii) Xerophytic Flowers
Flowers like Cacti and Sedum need very little water to grow and develop normally. These are known as xerophytic flowers.
iii) Moisture-loving Flowers
Most flowers, like roses, Gardenia, Osmanthus, Dahlia, and carnation, require growing in soil with high humidity and good drainage.
These are known as moisture-loving flowers. They consume a lot of water every day during the growing season, so it’s important to replenish the soil with water in time to keep it moist.
Flower types are primarily categorized by five distinct classifications: complete and incomplete flowers; actinomorphic (regular), zygomorphic (irregular), and asymmetrical flowers; double, single, and achlamydeous perianth flowers; bisexual, unisexual, and asexual flowers; as well as wind, insect, bird, and water pollinated flowers.
Further classifications can be made based on other distinct characteristics.
(1) Complete flowers: These include sepals, petals, stamens, and pistils, found in plants like rapeseed, cotton, peaches, and tomatoes.
(2) Incomplete flowers: These lack one or several parts such as sepals, petals, stamens, or pistils, seen in plants like mulberry, pumpkin, and willow.
(1) Actinomorphic (Regular) flowers: Have two or more planes of symmetry, like those of cotton, peach, and eggplant.
(2) Zygomorphic (Irregular) flowers: Only have one plane of symmetry, seen in plants like broad beans, pansies, and rice.
(3) Asymmetrical flowers: Have no planes of symmetry, like the flowers of heliconia.
(1) Double perianth flowers: Include both sepals and petals, seen in plants like lilies and codonopsis.
(2) Simple perianth flowers: Only include sepals or indistinguishable sepals and petals, like magnolia and anemone.
(3) Achlamydeous flowers: Lack a perianth, as in Eucommia, pepper, poplar, and willow.
(1) Bisexual flowers: Have both stamens and pistils, like peony and bellflower.
(2) Unisexual flowers: Have either stamens (male) or pistils (female).
(3) Asexual flowers: Neither stamens nor pistils are fully developed or present, as seen in some flowers surrounding a hydrangea inflorescence.
(1) Wind-pollinated flowers.
(2) Insect-pollinated flowers.
(3) Bird-pollinated flowers.
(4) Water-pollinated flowers.
Flower parts of angiosperms can have a primitive spiral arrangement, like the flowers of magnolia and buttercup. Some parts, such as stamens and pistils, are arranged in a spiral and don’t have a fixed number.
More evolved species, like most angiosperms, have a whorled arrangement with a fixed number of parts.
The separate origin of flower parts in angiosperms is primitive, while their union is a sign of evolution. For example, free-petal flowers are more primitive, while fused-petal flowers are more evolved.
When flower parts unite, they can either do so with parts of the same kind (a connection), as when petals unite with petals, or different parts can unite (adnation), as when the stamens of cotton unite with the base of the petals.
In many plants, the sepals, petals, and stamens are adnate to the ovary, forming an inferior ovary.
Peggie was once a high school mathematics teacher, but she set aside her chalkboard and textbooks to follow her lifelong passion for flowers. After years of dedication and learning, she not only established a thriving flower shop but also founded this blog, “Flowers Library”. If you have any questions or wish to learn more about flowers, feel free to contact Peggie.
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