Fascinating Nature
National Flowers
A country can choose a flower as its symbol, just like a flag! One was picked by a public vote, and one turned out to be a brand-new species.
Did you know?
Bhutan's national flower is a blue poppy that grows high in the Himalaya. In 2017, scientists found it was a brand-new species! They named it Meconopsis gakyidiana, from 'gakyi', a Dzongkha word for happiness.
In 2023, people in the Netherlands voted for a national flower, and the little daisy won! The tulip wasn't on the list, as it doesn't grow wild there. A daisy is really 60 to 100 tiny flowers packed together.
Malaysia's national flower is the red hibiscus, called bunga raya. Its five petals stand for the Rukun Negara, the country's five guiding principles. Its red colour stands for courage and life.
Try this: Flower Detective
Pick up a fallen flower, such as a hibiscus, from the ground instead of plucking one. Place it on white paper and count its petals. Find the thin stalks covered in yellow dust: that dust is pollen. Gently pull the petals apart and draw each part. Now compare it with a different flower. Wash your hands afterwards, and never taste any flower.
Go further: Tulip Fever
About 400 years ago, people in the Netherlands went wild for tulips. The most prized bulbs grew flowers with flame-like stripes. At the peak, some single bulbs sold for more than ten times a skilled worker's yearly pay! Then, in February 1637, prices suddenly crashed. Much later, scientists discovered that those beautiful stripes were caused by a virus, which 'breaks' a petal's colour into two or more colours.