Of Flora & Folklore: Flowers of July

Happy July!

Wow, I can't believe it's July already! Spent the better part of the day at the New York Botanical Garden--it was gorgeous despite the sweltering heat and the horrible humidity. Rained for a bit which alas, did nothing to alleviate the air of humidity. However, as the title suggests, this post is not about my visit to the NYBG--perhaps I shall blog about that on another day--but rather about the Flowers of July! I have quite a few friends whose birthdays are in July, so I decided, what better way to acknowledge all of them than to add another post to my Floral Calendar collection?

As with my previous Floral Calendar post, I shall begin with the medieval calendar which designated the water lily as the official flower of July. Monet, anyone?~~ Under the Language of Flowers, the water lily was a symbol of eloquence and persuasion.

Common Name: Water Lily

Family: Nymphaeaceae

In the Chinese flower calendar, the flower of July is the lotus flower, which was a symbol of perfection and purity, as well as an emblem of Summer. As you may or may not know, the lotus flower is important, not only in Chinese culture, but in Buddhist and Hindu religions as well. For the purposes of this blog, however, I won't get too in depth about the various uses and importance of the lotus flower--perhaps on another day. However, I will tell you that the lotus flower also represents fruitfulness and offspring in China, and is a symbol of Heaven in Buddhist thought.

Common Name: Lotus Flower

Scientific Name: Nelumbo nucifera

Chinese: 蓮花 (Liánhuā)

Last but not least, we come to the Japanese flower calendar--for which the mountain clover is July's flower of choice. Along with being July's official flower, it also stood for fecundity, conquest, and victory in Japanese culture.