If I were to ask you to name a flower the chances are you’d say ‘rose’. The rose is the most recognisable of all flowers and it is the symbol of love and passion. That may be why it is the birth flower for June – the traditional month for weddings. But what do you know about the rose? Well, Education Quizzes is always keen to enlighten its readers so here are some facts about England’s national flower:
- The fruit of the rose is the rose hip which is a good source of vitamin C
- The sweet scent of a rose comes from the chemical beta-phenyl ethyl alcohol
- The Netherlands is the largest exporter of roses. It has 8000 hectares of land devoted to growing them
- The rose is the national flower of the USA (as well as of England), being officially chosen in 1986
- Roses come in many colours, each with a symbolic meaning. The black rose, which symbolises death, is actually a very dark red
- Rose is used as both a first name (as in Rose Byrne) or as a surname (as in Axl Rose)
- There are also roses named after people, for example Barbra Streisand, Audrey Hepburn and Oprah Winfrey
- Most people think that rose stems are covered in “thorns”, but the correct term is “prickles”
As well as being pretty, roses can also be a boon to wildlife in your garden. The RSPB has some useful information on creating a wildlife-friendly garden if you’d like to take a look – conservation can be a beautiful thing!
So, now you know all about the rose, but how well do you know other flowers? Test yourself by playing our Nature quizzes. We have over sixty of them, many of which are all about flowers, trees and other plants. If you fancy yourself as green-fingered, give them a go and see whether you can score 10 out of 10 on them all!