Culture of The United Kingdom - Floral Emblems

Floral Emblems

Each of the four countries of the UK has a traditional floral emblem. The red rose is the national flower of England, and its use dates from the reign of Henry VII who chose a red rose, representing Lancaster, and a white rose, representing York. As a result the English civil wars in the 15th-century came to be called the Wars of the Roses. The national flower in Scotland is the thistle, Northern Ireland the shamrock, and in Wales the daffodil and leek. The Union rose, shamrock and thistle is engrafted on the same stem on the coat of arms of the United Kingdom.