Flowers of the World
Hi kids, the school holidays are finally here. Some of you may be travelling. So, let’s learn about the national flowers of some of the countries you might be visiting.

A Burst of Gold and Green
During winter, many plants and animals respond to the cold by slowing or ceasing activity, conserving their energy for spring. However, if you visit Australia in winter, you might notice that in the midst of the grey and bleak landscape, there is an occasional burst of gold and green that lights up the Australian forests and countryside. Thanks to the Golden Wattle tree.

The Golden Wattle is Australia ’s national flower. It is a small tree or shrub which can grow to between four and 10 meters in height. The Golden Wattle tree flowers in winter and spring, and is easily identifiable because of its large golden ball-shaped flowers. The tree is able to withstand strong winds, droughts and fires. This resilience represents the spirit of the Australian people.

The Golden Wattle can be found in South Australia , New South Wales and Victoria . A specimen is also planted in the Sydney Royal Botanical Gardens.

Do you know that the flowers of the Golden Wattle are very sweet-smelling? They are used for making perfume.

Brief but Beautiful
The cherry blossom or Sakura, as the Japanese call it, is the unofficial national flower of Japan . It is a beautiful sight to behold when cherry blossoms are in bloom. They are so beautiful that the Japanese organise ‘hanami’ or flower viewing parties. At these parties, visitors gather in parks to admire the blooms and have picnics with friends and family.

There are different varieties of cherry blossoms, but Japan ’s favourite is the Somei Yoshino. This particular variety has white blossoms which are coloured the palest of pink near the stem. Cherry blossoms only bloom for a week before their flowers fall off. Due to its short blossoming span, the Japanese view the cherry blossom as representative of life, which is short but beautiful. Cherry blossoms are also used to honour those who died in battle, especially the Samurai. These soldiers died young because of wars.

The War of the Roses
The rose is the national flower of England . It was adopted as England ’s national flower during the time of the War of the Roses (1455 – 1485). During this civil war, both the warring parties, the royal houses of Lancaster and York, used the rose as their emblems. The Lancastrians used a red rose, while the Yorkists used a white rose. The red rose was adopted as the national flower when the royal house of York lost the war.

There are about 100 to 150 species of roses. Roses are flowering shrubs which normally grow to two to five metres, but could reach 20 metres by climbing over other plants. The flowers can be used to make herbal tea, jam and jelly.

Many of you know that roses are sweat smelling. But do you know that even when they fade and rot, they do not produce a bad smell? This is because they have a special chemical composition that prevents them from producing a bad smell.

Do you know that rose shrubs are often used by homeowners and landscape architects for home security purposes? The sharp thorns of many rose species scare off the robbers and thieves!