Flowers have two names in English: the common name everyone uses (rose, tulip, lily) and the botanical or scientific name in Latin (Rosa, Tulipa, Lilium) that botanists worldwide recognise as the one true label. Fifty-five common flowers follow, paired with their botanical names, a picture, and a plain line each, plus a short note where the Latin binomial has an interesting story behind it.
The most common flowers and their botanical names are Rose (Rosa), Sunflower (Helianthus annuus), Lily (Lilium), Tulip (Tulipa), Daisy (Bellis perennis), Orchid (Orchidaceae), Jasmine (Jasminum officinale), Hibiscus (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis), Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera), and Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia).
Common Flowers With Botanical Names
Every category groups the flowers by where they grow and how a learner meets them, so you can find the exact botanical name whether you are looking at a garden bed, a woodland walk, a tropical garden, or a florist’s bouquet.
Popular Garden Flowers and Their Botanical Names
Popular garden flowers are the ones you plant in beds, borders, and bouquets, from the classic rose and tulip to the summer showstoppers like dahlia and gerbera.
Rose (Rosa): the classic garden flower with fragrant, layered petals and thorny stems, sold in every colour except true blue and grown across every continent except Antarctica.
Sunflower (Helianthus annuus): tall, bright, and topped with a golden disk of florets that follows the sun, with a Latin name from Greek helios (sun) and anthos (flower).
Tulip (Tulipa): cup-shaped spring flower from Central Asia and the Netherlands, and the English name comes from Turkish tülbend (turban), for its head-like shape.
Daisy (Bellis perennis): small white flower with a yellow centre and pink-tipped petals, and the Latin Bellis means “beautiful,” which suits its cheerful wildflower charm.
Marigold (Tagetes): bright orange or yellow bloom with a strong scent, common in gardens and used in religious festivals across India and Mexico.
Carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus): frilled, spicy-scented flower in pink, red, or white, popular in bouquets and traditional Mother’s Day arrangements.
Zinnia (Zinnia elegans): daisy-like bloom in vivid pink, red, orange, or yellow, quick to grow from seed and beloved by butterflies through the summer.
Petunia (Petunia × hybrida): funnel-shaped flower in white, pink, purple, or bi-colour, planted in hanging baskets and window boxes across most of the world.
Begonia (Begonia semperflorens): waxy-leaved flowering plant with white, pink, or red blooms, grown for shade beds and container gardens.
Dahlia (Dahlia pinnata): showy summer flower with dozens of tightly packed petals, from pom-pom shapes to dinner-plate blooms in every colour but true blue.
Chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum × morifolium): autumn flower with dense, layered petals in gold, bronze, and white, and the Greek chrysos (gold) plus anthemon (flower) gives the Latin name its literal meaning.
Pansy (Viola tricolor): face-like flower with velvety markings, planted in cool-season borders and window boxes when other blooms have faded.
Snapdragon (Antirrhinum majus): flower spike of dragon-mouth blooms that snap open when squeezed at the sides, and the Greek Antirrhinum means “snout-like,” for that same shape.
Gerbera (Gerbera jamesonii): large daisy-like flower on a single stem in bold reds, pinks, oranges, and yellows, named after German botanist Traugott Gerber and a florist favourite worldwide.
Lily (Lilium): trumpet-shaped flower with six wide petals and the sweetest fragrance of any classic bouquet flower, in white, pink, orange, or spotted.
Spring and Bulb Flowers With Scientific Names
Spring and bulb flowers rise from underground bulbs after winter, and each botanical name marks a plant that returns to the same spot year after year.
Daffodil (Narcissus): yellow trumpet-shaped flower on a bare green stem, opening in early spring, and named after the Greek myth of Narcissus, who fell in love with his own reflection.
Hyacinth (Hyacinthus orientalis): dense spike of small waxy flowers with a powerful sweet fragrance in blue, pink, purple, or white.
Crocus (Crocus vernus): tiny cup-shaped flower that pushes up through late-winter snow, one of the first signs of spring in temperate gardens.
Snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis): drooping white winter flower that opens in January and February, and the Greek Galanthus means “milk flower,” for its pure white colour.
Bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scripta): bell-shaped violet-blue flower that carpets British woodlands every April and May.
Lily of the Valley (Convallaria majalis): sprays of tiny white bells on an arching stem, deeply fragrant, and the Latin Convallaria comes from convallis, meaning “of the valley.”
Freesia (Freesia refracta): funnel-shaped flower on a slender stalk in white, yellow, pink, or red, prized in bouquets for its citrus-sweet scent.
Amaryllis (Hippeastrum): giant trumpet-shaped flower on a tall bare stem, popular as a Christmas indoor bulb across Europe and North America.
Iris (Iris germanica): stately spring flower with three upright petals and three drooping “falls,” named after Iris, the Greek goddess of the rainbow, for its colour range.
Wildflower Names With Botanical Names
Wildflowers grow without a gardener’s hand, filling meadows, roadsides, and woodland floors with colour every spring and summer.
Poppy (Papaver rhoeas): bright red flower with paper-thin petals and a black centre, a symbol of remembrance since the First World War.
Buttercup (Ranunculus repens): glossy yellow flower with rounded petals that carpets meadows and lawns, and the Latin Ranunculus means “little frog,” a nod to the plant’s love of damp ground.
Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale): yellow ray-flower head that turns into a fluffy spherical seed-clock, both a common weed and a source of tea, wine, and salad greens.
Forget-Me-Not (Myosotis sylvatica): sky-blue flower with a yellow eye, and the Greek Myosotis means “mouse ear,” for the shape of its small leaves.
Cornflower (Centaurea cyanus): brilliant blue wildflower once found in wheat fields across Europe, now a garden favourite for cottage borders.
Anemone (Anemone coronaria): silky-petalled spring flower in red, white, blue, or purple around a dark centre.
Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea): purple, pink, or white bell-shaped flowers stacked on a tall spike, and the Latin Digitalis means “finger-like,” for the shape of each bell.
Sweet Pea (Lathyrus odoratus): ruffled bloom on a climbing vine, prized for a honey-sweet fragrance in cottage gardens.
Cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus): wispy daisy-like flower on a tall wiry stem in pink, white, or crimson, and the Greek Cosmos means “harmony” or “order,” a nod to its balanced petals.
Aster (Aster amellus): star-shaped autumn bloom in blue, purple, pink, or white, and the Greek aster simply means “star.”
Tropical and Exotic Flowers With Scientific Names
Tropical and exotic flowers grow in warm, humid climates and show the strongest colours, largest blooms, and heaviest fragrances of any flower group.
Hibiscus (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis): large trumpet flower with five broad petals in red, pink, orange, or yellow, and Hawaii’s state flower.
Frangipani (Plumeria rubra): waxy five-petalled flower with a strong tropical fragrance, iconic in Hawaiian leis and Thai temple offerings.
Bird of Paradise (Strelitzia reginae): dramatic orange-and-blue flower shaped like a tropical bird’s crest, native to South Africa.
Orchid (Orchidaceae): largest flowering plant family in the world, with more than 25,000 species from the tiny bee orchid to the enormous vanilla vine.
Bougainvillea (Bougainvillea spectabilis): papery magenta, pink, or orange bracts clustered along a hardy climbing vine, named after French navigator Louis Antoine de Bougainville.
Wisteria (Wisteria sinensis): draping vine of cascading lilac-blue flower spikes, named after American anatomist Caspar Wistar and famous for spring displays in Japan.
Jasmine (Jasminum officinale): white star-shaped flower with the sweetest evening fragrance in Asian gardens, and the base note of jasmine tea and perfume.
Morning Glory (Ipomoea purpurea): dawn-opening trumpet flower on a climbing vine in blue, pink, or purple that closes again by afternoon.
Water Flowers With Botanical Names
Water flowers grow rooted in mud with their blooms rising above still water, and both major species carry sacred meaning across Asia.
Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera): sacred flower of India and Vietnam with pink or white petals raised above the water on a tall stem, symbolising purity and enlightenment across Asia.
Water Lily (Nymphaea alba): round-leaved aquatic flower that floats on still water, and the Greek Nymphaea recalls the water nymphs of ancient mythology.
Flowering Shrubs and Trees With Latin Names
Flowering shrubs and trees give a garden its structural blooms, and some tree flowers, like cherry blossom and magnolia, define an entire season.
Azalea (Rhododendron): flowering shrub with masses of trumpet-shaped pink, red, orange, or white blooms in spring.
Camellia (Camellia japonica): glossy-leaved shrub with rose-like flowers in pink, red, or white, blooming from late winter into early spring.
Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora): wide saucer-shaped waxy blooms up to 30 cm across, carried on a large tree native to the American South.
Cherry Blossom (Prunus serrulata): iconic pale-pink spring bloom of the Japanese cherry tree, and the centrepiece of Japan’s hanami festival every April.
Hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla): shrub with round clusters of small blue or pink flowers, and the Greek Hydrangea means “water vessel,” for the plant’s thirst.
Peony (Paeonia): layered silky petals in pink, red, or white make this fragrant late-spring flower a garden centrepiece.
Lilac (Syringa vulgaris): fragrant purple flower cones fill this spring shrub, a signature scent of European and North American gardens every May.
Fragrant Flowers and Flowering Herbs
Fragrant flowers and flowering herbs are grown for scent as much as sight, and they end up in teas, oils, perfumes, and traditional medicine as much as bouquets.
Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia): narrow spike of tiny purple flowers with a fresh calming scent, cultivated in Provence, England, and Bulgaria for oil and dried bouquets.
Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla): apple-scented daisy-like flowers with white petals and yellow centres, and the base for one of the world’s most popular calming teas.
Echinacea (Echinacea purpurea): purple coneflower with drooping petals around a spiny orange centre, grown in prairies and gardens and used in herbal cold remedies.
Geranium (Pelargonium): rounded cluster of red, pink, or white flowers on a soft-leaved plant, and most garden “geraniums” you buy are actually Pelargonium, not the true genus Geranium (see the section that follows).
Geranium vs Pelargonium: The Common Naming Mix-Up
The word “geranium” points to two completely different flower groups, and the mix-up trips up almost every beginner gardener.
| Group | Genus | Where you meet it | Look |
|---|---|---|---|
| True geraniums | Geranium | Wildflower borders and rock gardens | Small five-petalled flowers, hardy perennial |
| Pelargoniums | Pelargonium | Pots, hanging baskets, window boxes | Bold rounded flower clusters, tender annual |
The garden-centre “geranium” you buy in spring is almost always a Pelargonium, native to South Africa. The true Geranium, also called cranesbill, is a smaller hardier plant that survives winter in cool climates. Both share the common name because early European botanists placed them together before later research split them into two genera.
FAQs
Q1. What is the botanical name of the rose?
The botanical name of the rose is Rosa, a genus in the family Rosaceae with more than 300 species and thousands of cultivars, from the miniature rose to the towering climbing rose. The common garden rose most people picture is Rosa indica or Rosa gallica.
Q2. What is the botanical name of the lotus?
The botanical name of the lotus is Nelumbo nucifera, written with the authority “Gaertn.” at the end for the botanist who classified it. The word Nelumbo comes from Sinhalese, the language of Sri Lanka, and the lotus is the national flower of both India and Vietnam.
Q3. What are the top 10 flowers and their botanical names?
The top 10 flowers and their botanical names are Rose (Rosa), Sunflower (Helianthus annuus), Lily (Lilium), Tulip (Tulipa), Daisy (Bellis perennis), Orchid (Orchidaceae), Jasmine (Jasminum officinale), Hibiscus (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis), Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera), and Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia).
Q4. Why do flowers have Latin scientific names?
Latin scientific names give every flower one unique worldwide name that any botanist can recognise, no matter what language they speak. A common name like “bluebell” points to different flowers in Britain, Australia, and North America, but Hyacinthoides non-scripta names exactly one species. This system, called binomial nomenclature, was created by Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in the 1750s.
Q5. What is the difference between a common name and a botanical name?
A common name is the everyday word for a flower in one language, like “rose” in English, “rosa” in Spanish, or “gulab” in Hindi. A botanical name is the two-word Latin name recognised by botanists worldwide, like Rosa gallica. Common names vary by region and can point to different plants, while botanical names are precise and universal.
Q6. What is the difference between Geranium and Pelargonium?
Both plants share the common name “geranium,” but they are separate genera. True Geranium species are hardy wildflowers and rock-garden perennials with small five-petalled blooms, native to cooler climates. Pelargonium species are the flowers you buy in pots at the garden centre, with bolder rounded clusters, native to South Africa and grown as tender annuals in cool regions.
