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There is always a confusing question about France: what is the country's national flower?
The national flower of France is the iris, but why it is called "the flower of lily" in French? /VCG Photo
Most people may think it is the iris. However, in French, it is called "fleur-de-lis" or "fleur-de-lys," meaning "flower of the lily." Even the golden emblem of fleur-de-lis looks like a three-petal lily. So, what is it after all?
The fleur-de-lis, or fleur-de-lys, is a stylized lily (in French, fleur means "flower," and lis means "lily") that is used as a decorative design or motif. /VCG Photo
Well, the simplest answer is: the iris, or specifically, the sweet iris. In fact, "iris" is a genus of 260-300 flowering plants in the Iridaceae family. The sweet iris (Iris Pallida) is one of them. The flower is paler than other purple irises, with a pleasant fragrance.
The sweet iris. /VCG Photo
Iris as the French national flower has a long history. The ancient royal family of France used the flower as their emblem for centuries. In a religious sense, the three petals of the iris symbolize the Trinity. In modern France, people believe the flower represents pureness, brightness, solemnity and freedom.
A series of beautiful irises in pictures. /VCG Photo
A series of beautiful irises in pictures. /VCG Photo
The iris. /VCG Photo
The iris. /VCG Photo
The iris. /VCG Photo
The iris. /VCG Photo
The iris. /VCG Photo
The iris. /VCG Photo
So, why it is called "flower of lily" in French? It may be a beautiful mistake: the three petal iris on royal emblems looks pretty similar to the lily. Besides, the Louis VII of France loved the iris most. He officialized the flower as the exclusive royal decoration by wearing a blue robe with golden irises on his coronation. Because he favored the iris, the flower was called "the flower of Louis" (fleur-de-loys) in his time, which sounded like "the flower of lily" (fleur-de-lys) in French. This might have caused the confusion, which persists to this day.
About 'Plants & Nations'
"Plants & Nations" is a series of articles and pictures about common plants in the world. It serves as a guide to beautiful plants from different countries.
For more articles and pictures, please click here:
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(Cover image via VCG, designed by CGTN's Qu Bo)
(If you want to contribute and have specific expertise, please contact us at nature@cgtn.com)