Las flores han formado siempre parte de nuestras vidas desde el principio de los tiempos. Hoy en dia, las usamos mayormente para la decoración, pero en el pasado la gente las usaba para comer, como medicinas naturales o incluso para envíar un mensaje de amor.
Uses of flowers
Scientists estimate that there are about 250,000 different kinds of flowering plants and that more than 10,000 of them are cultivated purely for their ornamental value. Apart from using flowers for decoration, we also use them to express feelings at weddings symbolise love, at funerals or on graves (tumbas) as a sign of respect and remembrance (recordatorio) and at religious ceremonies. Christians celebrate the Easter (Semana Santa) mass surrounded (rodeado/a) by bouquets (ramos de flores) of white lilies (lirios) to mean “purity”. Buddhists and Hindus consider the lotus flower sacred and they use it in their ceremonies.
Although we automatically associate tulips with Holland, it may surprise you to know that they originated in Persia. In the 16th century they grew only in Turkey, where they were named tülbent because of their resemblance to the turban (turbante) – a kind of hat.
Decorate your plates
In the past, people grew flowers for food. In prehistoric Mexico they ate the roots (raíces) of dahlias and Chinese people still eat lotus seeds (semillas de loto) and stalks (tallos) today. In medieval times, people used marigolds (caléndulas) as a herb to season (sazonar) meat and in Elizabethan England, they ate uncooked violets in a salad with onions and lettuce or put them in soups. Nowadays, top chefs are starting to use flowers to decorate their dishes, so you may find a pansy (pensamiento-flor) on your plate one day.
- “Say it with flowers” is the slogan for the American Society of Florists
- In Hamlet, by Shakespeare, Ophelia tells us that rosemary (romero) is for remembrance and that a pansy means thoughts.
Here are a few common meanings for flowers to help you decide what to buy:
- Carnation (clavel) – Fascination, devoted love
- Daffodil (narciso) – The sun shines when I am with you
- Daisy (margarita) – I’ll never tell (a secret)
- Geranium – This usually signifies a true friend… but it can sometimes mean “stupidity”, so be careful! Maybe you should avoid this one.
- Pansy – Thoughts
- Sweetpea (guisantes de olor) – Good bye. Thank you for a lovely time.
Flower power
Dr. Bach, a British physician, used 38 essences from flowers to restore emotional balance in his patients and to help the body heal (curar) itself. Recent research at the State University of New Jersey demonstrated that flowers have a beneficial effect on our health and happiness. Chinese healers have always believed this and they frequently use flowers in their treatments. The secret is in the colour. If you haven’t got much energy, surround yourself with red roses. If your problem is a lack of confidence (falta de confianza) – buy yourself some irises.(iris) Sunflowers (girasoles) stimulate the brain – good before an exam. If you are suffering from stress, choose lilacs. When you finish reading this article, why don’t you run out to the florist and buy yourself a lovely bunch (ramo) of flowers?
Nature’s Cure
We use flowers in medicine today much less often than in the past. There are now chemical alternatives for almost every ingredient that flowers supplied.(suministran) But there are still some medicines that contain flowers. We use camomile blossoms (flores) to make infusions to calm an upset stomach (estómago irritado) and both morphine and codeine are obtained from poppies.(amapolas )
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