Herbal Sentiment
Herbal Sentiment is the silent language of flowers and herbs,
symbolizing any situation or emotion. During Victorian times, speaking
with flowers became very popular. Nature and the study of botany was
very important especially with the wealthy ladies. The general public
became obsessed with growing flower gardens, wearing clothing with
flowers on them, and using them in cosmetics, perfumes and home
decorations. From this grew the belief of attributing lifelike qualities
to the flowers. There were lots of books written on the meaning of
flowers. Both ladies and men were expected to be versed in the language
of flowers. Most of the meanings related to love, feelings and affairs
of the heart. It was the language for those who could not write prose or
speak with romantic expression.
During the nineteenth century there was a plethora of floral
dictionaries printed. Though this is an indication that this was part of
common everyday life. There is no documentation in other publications of
the day. Flowers were an important part of daily life but the language
of flowers were probably mostly an indulgence of the wealthy.
Here are some meanings of common fall flowers and herbs.
Cone flower: skill, capability
Garlic: protection, strength, courage, good luck
Mint: hospitality, welcome, warmth of feeling
Chrysanthemum, red: "I love"; Alas for my heart"
Chrysanthemum, white: truth, fidelity
Chrysanthemum, yellow: slighted love, jealousy, disdain
Sunflower: pride, haughtiness, lofty and pure thoughts
Sweet Basil: love, betrothal, best wishes, hatred
"A noble flower in Asia, the chrysanthemum is mentioned by
Confucius and often appears on Chinese ceramics as the flower of Autumn,
a symbol of harvest, rest and ease."
The Meaning of Flowers by Gretchen Scoble & Ann Fiel |
CONTROVERSIAL
CHAMOMILE -- "C-ing"
THROUGH CHAMOMILE
Chamomile is the herb with the split identity. Is it camomile or chamomile?
Which is the true chamomile -- German chamomile
(Matricaria recutita) or Roman chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile)?
For a plant that is known for calming, it sure has had a controversial history. German chamomile is an annual and Roman chamomile is a perennial, but delving into chamomile has revealed hundreds of years of debate over this herb.
Confusion
German chamomile and Roman chamomile are two distinct plants with similar characteristics. The trouble is that people familiar with one tend to think it is the only chamomile. The two chamomiles have been confused throughout history. German chamomile
(Matricaria chamomilla, now reclassified as Matricaria recutita) is considered by Germanic peoples as the true chamomile while English herbals consider it to be a weed. Roman chamomile
(Chamaemelum nobile) also known as English chamomile is considered a weed by Germanic people. It is considered that C. nobile is the true chamomile and the one classified by Carolus
Linnaeus, the father of botany classification. Linnaeus classified and named both plants and he chose the specific name chamomilla for German chamomile simply because it closely resembled Anthemis noblis (the genus in which Roman chamomile formerly was classified). Chamomile derived its name from Greek meaning "ground apple," because of its apple-like fragrance.
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