Maddie Forbes

The cosmos flower gets its etymological origin from the Greek word “cosmos,” which refers to the universe. Cosmos represents the unity and balance of everything that makes up the universe.  Native to Mexico, it was discovered by Spanish voyagers in…

The lady’s slipper orchid’s scientific name is Cypripedium calceolus. This comes from the Greek word Kupris pedion, which means ‘the foot of Venus.’ Venus is the Roman goddess of beauty, love, and desire. The second word, calceolus, means ‘small shoe’…

A rose is a flowering plant of the genus Rosa, which contains over 100 varieties of perennial shrubs in the rose family (Rosaceae). Many roses are grown for their lovely blossoms, ranging from white to varied shades of yellow and…

The Gentians (official name: Gentiana), belonging to the Gentianaceae family, hail from the Northern Hemisphere’s temperate mountain regions and the Andes. The plant is most common in Asia, Europe, and North and South America, where the climate is more volatile. …

Plumeria is the scientific term for all the Frangipani variations.  Charles Plumier, a 17th-century naturalist, chronicled a great deal of New World flora and fauna that inspired the name ‘Plumeria,’ also known as “broken bread.” The holy food for church…

A member of the lily family, the scientific name of this three-petaled flower is Trillium grandiflorum. It is formed from the Latin words ‘tri’ which means three and refers to the three parts of the flower, and ‘Lilium’ denotes the…

Inherent to the northeastern United States, Jacob’s ladder grows in swamps and mosses. This flower species is mainly a genus consisting of around 25 to 40 blossoming plants. Jacob’s ladder flowers belong to the Polemoniaceae family.  The plant is tropical…

Belonging to the Kingdom Plantae, eucalyptus represents a genus of more than 700 species of trees of a flowering nature. In this large group of plants, there are also shrubs belonging to the myrtle category of plants, Myrtaceae.  In the…

The Indian paintbrush flower is a striking plant, also known as Castilleja Indivisa, desert Indian paintbrush, or Prairie fire. It belongs to a species consisting of circa 200 herbaceous plants, annual and perennial, and is a part of the figwort…

Commonly known as the balloon flower, its scientific name is Platycodon Grandiflorus. It is a perennial plant and the only member belonging to the genus Platycodon of the family Campanulaceae. The Campanulaceae family has over 2400 species of herbaceous plants…