If you’ve ever gone on a hike through the Spanish mountains, you’ll know just how important biodiversity is to creating its beautiful landscapes. One benefit of this biodiversity is the abundance of wonderful Spanish flowers that grow naturally in Spain.
In this article, we’ll be taking a look at some of the best and brightest Spanish flowers, as well as a few from other Spanish-speaking regions.
1. The Red Carnation
We’re kicking things off with a wonderfully vibrant flower that has huge red/pink petals to make it stand out among even the brightest of flowers.
This is the national flower of Spain and also carries some very important symbolism for the region.
For example, it is meant to represent affection between lovers, much like a red rose.
In a religious context, this flower is also said to be symbolic of the passion of Christ, representing his crown made of thorns.
The red carnation is easily one of the most popular flowers in Spain and would make a lovely addition to any flower patch.
2. Spanish Bluebells
The bluebell is a flower that is seen across the world and everybody can appreciate their simple beauty.
However, this variety of bluebell, commonly found in Portugal and Spain, can grow naturally in a variety of different conditions and climates, making it a very resilient plant.
They’re often found commonly in wildflower patches, shooting bursts of bright blue through a sea of often green and red foliage.
3. Water Lilies
As the name suggests, these gorgeous plants grow naturally on bodies of water like ponds and lakes.
In fact, all over Spain, you’ll find luxurious pools and fountains with water lilies growing in them, as they represent the height of luxury and sophistication in the country.
Of course, they do require still bodies of water to grow properly so don’t get any ideas of planting some in a river or stream. However, water lilies can grow just as easily on a pond as they can in a large water tank.
4. Valencia Red Rose
Universally known as a symbol of love and romance, the red rose is one of the most symbolically important and beautiful flowers around.
The Valencia species of red rose is famous within the Spanish region of Valencia and becomes particularly expensive around Valentine’s day.
They require a great deal of care compared to most of the flowers on this list but the strikingly bright red petals that emerge are definitely worth it!
5. Gazania Flowers
You’ll find this pretty flower most commonly in the coastal regions of Spain where they can soak up hours of sunlight every day.
With colored petals ranging from deep orange to bright yellow, many botanists choose to grow these flowers simply to observe the spectacular color spectrum they can produce.
In terms of structural appearance, these flowers look quite like common daisies, only with a bit of Spanish flair.
6. Geraniums
This is another universally popular flower that is indigenous to Spain.
Thanks to a vast spectrum of colored petals, these flowers are commonly used to decorate events like weddings and parties across the world.
You can find geraniums growing in colors like white, blue, purple, and even pink!
7. Bougainvillaea
This flower might be difficult to pronounce but it certainly leaves no mysteries for why it’s so popular across Spain.
The vivid purple foliage provides a striking backdrop for elegant white flowers to emerge and catch the eye.
They are commonly used to decorate luxurious gardens and homes, thanks to their unique color combinations.
8. Poppy Flowers
This is yet another well-known wildflower that you will often find growing in the Spanish countryside.
However, these flowers are just as easily found growing in sea-level meadows as they are at high altitudes in the mountains.
This is because the poppy is a very resilient and versatile flower, able to endure a great variety of growing conditions.
This makes them a popular choice for low-maintenance gardeners who enjoy the aesthetic appeal of their bright red petals but don’t want to have to tend to them diligently every day!
9. Lantana Flowers
The first thing you’ll notice about these flowers is how interestingly their petals are structurally grown.
The tubular structures around the center of the flower give way for a variety of differently colored petals to emerge onto the stage.
This makes the flower great for decorations at events like weddings or simply to liven up the inside of a home.
One of the best things about this flower is that it grows all year round, meaning they’re always at the forefront of Spanish decorators’ minds.
10. Pomegranate Flower
Another of Spain’s official flowers, the pomegranate flower accompanies the bright red fruit with similarly vibrant foliage.
The people of Spain place great significance on the pomegranate flower, with the city of Granada even being named after it.
The fruit and its flower feature frequently throughout Spanish literature and artwork and they feature very heavily in traditional Spanish decorations, being one of the most popular floral symbols in the country.
As a plant itself, the pomegranate flower grows very easily in naturally desolate climates where there is often little water and an abundance of sunlight.
For these reasons, you can find these flowers all over Spain without having to look very hard!
11. Orchids
The humble orchid appears frequently in Spanish floral decorations, with colors ranging through red, orange, purple, and white.
Historically, they were believed to represent virility and people even thought that consuming certain orchid species could reveal the sex of a person’s unborn child.
Of course, this flower has significantly less spiritual significance now but it is still seen as a symbol of luxury and will often be found adorning the walls of some of Spain’s finest establishments.
12. Ornamental Onion
This flower has probably the most unique name and shape of any on our list, thanks to its bizarre resemblance to the vegetable.
Despite the novelty, this flower is also rather beautiful, boasting vivid purple and blue petals in a globe-like shape.
In fact, Shakespeare once described the beauty of this flower as being ‘capable of moving one to tears’. Now that’s high praise indeed!
13. Gladiolus
Because of this flower’s swooping orange and yellow petals and tall structure, it’s a very popular choice to sit in flower patches for its aesthetic appeal.
However, it can also be eaten and is grown by some Spanish gardeners for this sole purpose.
Upon removing its antlers, this plant is said to be delicious when stuffed with cream cheese, onions, and herbs!
14. Begonias
These plants are seemingly arrogant in their boastfully bright petals and foliage, making them stand out among any other flowers.
The serrated leaves provide a striking backdrop for the bright red, white, or pink flowers that dazzle the eye.
They might be fairly small but these flowers will certainly get some attention in your garden.
Other Spanish Flowers
Whilst those were some of the most popular flowers that are indigenous to Spain itself, there are plenty of others that hail from Spanish-speaking countries and have made their way over to Southern Europe as a result.
1. La Monja Blanca
Growing naturally in parts of Guatemala, this gorgeous flower gets its name from its pure white color and its stem’s resemblance to a praying nun. In English, it would be called ‘the white nun’.
It grows most commonly at high altitudes, often as much as 5000 feet above sea level.
Despite the name and primarily white petals, this flower can also boast tinges of purple and pink around the center, making for a wonderfully diverse addition to any flower patch.
2. Mburucuya
This Paraguayan flower is perhaps one of the rainforest’s most beautiful treasures.
It is a climbing plant, boasting a stem that can often grow to 65 feet in length and some of the most colorful and wonderful flowers at the end of it.
Whilst color combinations can vary, you’ll commonly see this flower with white and purple petals.
One of the highlights of this flower is its fantastic center, which protrudes from the petals in a wonderful arrangement.
3. Sacuanjoche
The last flower we’re looking at is the Nicaraguan beauty.
It symbolizes immortality and resultantly features heavily in traditional marital ceremonies in Nicaragua, meant to strengthen the lifespan of a romantic relationship.
As well as its spiritual significance in these cultures, the sacuanjoche flower is absolutely gorgeous in appearance, featuring bright white petals that have tinges of yellow often making their way up from the center.
Final Thoughts
As you can probably tell, Spain is one of the botanist’s favorite places in the world to trek around and look for gorgeous wildflowers and other plants.
Thanks to the nation’s range of climates, from mountainous cliffs to desolate deserts, most of the indigenous plants here are very well suited to a variety of climates, meaning they can be transported across the world to grow pretty much anywhere.
If you’ve seen some flowers that you like the look of and might want to add to your own garden, make sure you research whether your conditions are appropriate to grow them but you’ll probably be safe and sound.
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The majority of people who have no interest in the subject, and aren’t green fingered assume that all plants and vegetables require the same growing conditions. This is not the case at all. Each plant has its own unique and interesting history and growing process.
I hope you will find The Natural List useful, and that it will help educate you on the wide variety of different flower and plant species there are across the globe.
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