This list covers 40 flowers whose names run alphabetically from “Sunflower” to “Spanish Broom.” You’ll find towering garden classics, fragrant climbing vines, delicate spring bulbs, and hardy wildflowers, each with its own bloom shape, color, and growing habit. People grow these flowers for cut arrangements, pollinator gardens, borders, bouquets, and simple backyard color throughout the seasons.
Flowers are the reproductive structures of flowering plants, built to attract pollinators like bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds while producing seeds for the next generation. Beyond biology, they carry deep cultural weight, sunflowers, for example, have long symbolized adoration and loyalty and were once cultivated by ancient civilizations for food, oil, and dye. Across history, people have used flowers to mark celebrations, express emotion, and decorate everything from weddings to sacred spaces.
Below you’ll find the table with each flower’s scientific name, growing region, color, meaning, and description.
Flower: the common name you’ll recognize each plant by, useful for quickly scanning the list or searching for a specific bloom.
Scientific Name: the Latin genus and species, handy if you want to look up growing details or confirm you have the right plant.
Growing Region: where the flower originates or thrives naturally, so you can gauge whether it suits your climate or garden.
Color: the typical bloom colors, giving you a quick sense of how each flower might look in a garden or arrangement.
Meaning: the symbolic meaning traditionally tied to the flower, useful if you’re choosing blooms for a gift or special occasion.
Description: a short overview of what makes the flower distinctive, from its shape and scent to its growth habit and charm.
Flowers
Flower
Scientific Name
Growing Region
Color
Meaning
Sunflower
Helianthus annuus
North America
Yellow
Adoration, loyalty
Sweet Pea
Lathyrus odoratus
Sicily, Mediterranean
Pink, purple, white
Blissful pleasure, farewell
Snapdragon
Antirrhinum majus
Mediterranean region
Various
Graciousness, strength
Stargazer Lily
Lilium ‘Stargazer’
Hybrid, originated in the USA
Pink and white
Ambition, prosperity
Statice
Limonium sinuatum
Mediterranean region
Purple, blue, pink
Remembrance, sympathy
Stock
Matthiola incana
Southern Europe
Purple, pink, white
Lasting beauty, happy life
Strawflower
Xerochrysum bracteatum
Australia
Yellow, orange, red
Everlasting love
Star of Bethlehem
Ornithogalum umbellatum
Mediterranean region
White
Purity, hope
Scabiosa
Scabiosa spp.
Europe, Asia, Africa
Blue, purple, white
Unfortunate love
Scarlet Sage
Salvia splendens
South America
Red
Domestic virtue, wisdom
Snowdrop
Galanthus nivalis
Europe
White
Hope, consolation
Sea Holly
Eryngium spp.
Europe
Blue
Independence, admiration
Spider Lily
Lycoris radiata
Asia
Red
Farewell, letting go
Speedwell
Veronica spicata
Europe, Asia
Blue
Fidelity
Spiderwort
Tradescantia virginiana
Eastern North America
Blue, purple
Momentary happiness
Squill
Scilla siberica
Eurasia
Blue
Forgive and forget
Star Jasmine
Trachelospermum jasminoides
East Asia
White
Purity, sweet love
Sweet Alyssum
Lobularia maritima
Mediterranean region
White, purple
Worth beyond beauty
Sweet William
Dianthus barbatus
Southern Europe
Pink, red, white
Gallantry
Stonecrop
Sedum spp.
Northern Hemisphere
Pink, yellow
Tranquility
Snow-in-Summer
Cerastium tomentosum
Europe
White
Purity
Shasta Daisy
Leucanthemum x superbum
Hybrid, Europe and North America
White
Patience, loyal love
Sacred Lotus
Nelumbo nucifera
Asia
Pink, white
Purity, enlightenment
Sensitive Plant
Mimosa pudica
South America
Pink
Shyness, sensitivity
Snake’s Head Fritillary
Fritillaria meleagris
Europe
Purple and white
Persecution, sympathy
Sea Thrift
Armeria maritima
Coastal Europe
Pink
Sympathy
Sego Lily
Calochortus nuttallii
Western United States
White
Beauty in adversity
Sweet Sultan
Amberboa moschata
Western Asia
Purple, white, yellow
Happiness
Stephanotis
Stephanotis floribunda
Madagascar
White
Marital happiness
Solomon’s Seal
Polygonatum spp.
Northern Hemisphere
White
Discretion
Spanish Bluebell
Hyacinthoides hispanica
Iberian Peninsula
Blue
Constancy
Star Magnolia
Magnolia stellata
Japan
White
Nobility, dignity
Sneezeweed
Helenium autumnale
North America
Yellow, orange
Cheerfulness
Siberian Iris
Iris sibirica
Central and Eastern Europe
Blue, purple
Faith, hope
Lady’s Slipper
Cypripedium spp.
Northern Hemisphere
Pink, yellow
Capricious beauty
Spanish Lavender
Lavandula stoechas
Mediterranean region
Purple
Devotion, calm
Star Cluster
Pentas lanceolata
East Africa, Arabia
Pink, red, white
Togetherness
Starflower
Borago officinalis
Mediterranean region
Blue
Courage
Swamp Milkweed
Asclepias incarnata
North America
Pink
Healing, hope
Spanish Broom
Spartium junceum
Mediterranean region
Yellow
Humility
Descriptions
Sunflower
A tall, cheerful bloom known for its huge golden head that famously turns to track the sun across the sky as it grows.
Sweet Pea
A climbing garden favorite prized for its ruffled petals and intensely sweet fragrance, often used in cottage-garden borders and cut arrangements.
Snapdragon
Named for its blossoms that “snap” open like a dragon’s mouth when gently squeezed, this cool-season bloom grows on tall spikes.
Stargazer Lily
A bold hybrid lily with large, upward-facing, star-shaped petals and a strong perfume, a favorite in bouquets and floral arrangements.
Statice
A papery, everlasting flower that keeps its color long after drying, making it a popular choice for dried floral arrangements.
Stock
A fragrant, spike-shaped flower with densely packed ruffled petals, often grown in cottage gardens and prized for its clove-like scent.
Strawflower
A daisy-like bloom with stiff, papery petals that retain their bright color when dried, giving it its “everlasting” nickname.
Star of Bethlehem
A dainty bulb flower with star-shaped white blossoms that open in sunlight and close again at dusk or on cloudy days.
Scabiosa
Also called the pincushion flower for its domed, pin-studded center, this airy bloom is a favorite of butterflies and bees.
Scarlet Sage
A vivid, spiky bedding plant whose tubular red blossoms bloom in dense clusters and attract hummingbirds throughout the summer.
Snowdrop
One of the earliest bloomers of the year, this delicate white bell-shaped flower often pushes up through late winter snow.
Sea Holly
A spiky, thistle-like plant with steely blue-silver bracts surrounding its flower head, valued for its striking, architectural texture.
Spider Lily
A striking bulb flower with narrow, curled petals and long, spidery stamens that give it a fireworks-like appearance.
Speedwell
A slender spike of tiny, star-shaped blue flowers that blooms reliably through summer and attracts a wide range of pollinators.
Spiderwort
A clump-forming perennial with grassy leaves and three-petaled blooms that each open for just a single day before wilting.
Squill
A small, early-spring bulb flower that carpets woodland floors and lawns with nodding, vivid blue bell-shaped blossoms.
Star Jasmine
A twining, evergreen vine covered in small, pinwheel-shaped white flowers with a rich, sweet fragrance that fills the air at dusk.
Sweet Alyssum
A low, spreading groundcover smothered in tiny, honey-scented flowers, commonly used to edge garden beds and spill over containers.
Sweet William
A clove-scented cottage garden staple whose flat clusters of small, fringed flowers bloom atop sturdy stems in late spring.
Stonecrop
A hardy, succulent-leaved perennial that produces flat clusters of star-shaped flowers and is a magnet for late-season pollinators.
Snow-in-Summer
A low, spreading groundcover with silvery foliage that becomes blanketed in small white flowers, resembling a dusting of summer snow.
Shasta Daisy
A classic garden daisy with crisp white petals and a sunny yellow center, blooming reliably from early to late summer.
Sacred Lotus
A majestic aquatic flower that rises above the water on tall stems, long revered in Asian art and spiritual traditions.
Sensitive Plant
A curious plant bearing small, puffball-like pink flowers, best known for its fern-like leaves that fold shut instantly when touched.
Snake’s Head Fritillary
A striking spring bulb with nodding, bell-shaped blooms patterned in a distinctive checkerboard of purple and white.
Sea Thrift
A tough, cushion-forming perennial that produces round, pom-pom clusters of pink flowers on wiry stems along rocky coastlines.
Sego Lily
A delicate wildflower with cup-shaped, three-petaled blooms marked with colorful blotches, and the state flower of Utah.
Sweet Sultan
A fragrant, thistle-like annual with fluffy, tufted blooms once popular in Victorian cutting gardens for its sweet scent.
Stephanotis
A fragrant, waxy-petaled vine flower traditionally woven into bridal bouquets as a symbol of a happy marriage.
Solomon’s Seal
A shade-loving woodland perennial with arching stems lined by small, dangling, bell-shaped white flowers beneath its leaves.
Spanish Bluebell
A sturdy spring bulb producing upright spikes of bell-shaped blue flowers, slightly more open and rounded than its English cousin.
Star Magnolia
An early-blooming ornamental tree or shrub whose slender, star-shaped white petals unfurl on bare branches before the leaves emerge.
Sneezeweed
A late-summer wildflower with warm, daisy-like blooms and a raised central disc, despite its name it does not cause sneezing.
Siberian Iris
A graceful, grassy-leaved perennial that produces slender, elegant blooms atop tall stems in late spring.
Lady’s Slipper
A rare and distinctive orchid named for its pouch-shaped lip, which resembles a small slipper and lures pollinating insects inside.
Spanish Lavender
A compact, aromatic shrub topped with dense flower spikes crowned by rabbit-ear-like purple bracts, beloved by bees.
Star Cluster
A heat-loving bedding plant whose small, star-shaped blossoms bloom in tight, rounded clusters and draw butterflies all season.
Starflower
Also known as borage, this edible herb produces vivid, five-pointed blue flowers with a mild, cucumber-like flavor.
Swamp Milkweed
A moisture-loving native perennial with clusters of fragrant pink flowers that serve as an essential host plant for monarch butterflies.
Spanish Broom
A rangy, drought-tolerant shrub with slender green stems and fragrant, pea-shaped yellow flowers that bloom through summer.
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