National Flower of Northern Ireland Flax or Linum usitatissimum. Celtic flower and animal patterns can be seen in some of the details of the ornate borders of the illustrated manuscripts, such as the Book of Durrow and the Book of Kells.

*The number three has always had strong significance in Celtic culture with the existence of triple deities, such as the Morrigan and the Goddess Brigit, as well as Celtic symbols, such as the triskele and triquetra.Ĭeltic art has also been greatly inspired by animal and plant motifs. Today, the Shamrock is probably the most widely used of all the national symbols of Ireland and features as part of the emblems of many different organizations such as Tourism Ireland (which covers tourism throughout Ireland, both north and south of the border), to the Irish Farmers Association (Republic of Ireland). Patrick’s Day (which is on March 17th), since around the 17th century.įrom around the 18th century, the Shamrock has been used as a symbol of Ireland and its popularity continued to grow as the Irish emigrated and brought their culture to the four corners of the world. While it may be hard to decipher fact from fiction with regards to the patron saint of Ireland, what is thought to be true is that Shamrock has been used to adorn Irish people’s hats and clothes to mark St. One of Ireland’s most famous legends says that Saint Patrick himself used the three-leaf clover to explain the story of the Holy Trinity.* The Shamrock has been associated with the Emerald Isle for a long time. (Photo: Ian_Redding via Canva) History of the Shamrock Young and mature flower of Yellow Clover. (An alternative version of Ireland’s flower would be the whitish heads of Trifolium repens.) This would make the yellow flower of Trifolium dubium the most likely candidate for the shamrock flower, and in turn, Ireland’s national flower. Other samples of Irish shamrock submitted by the public included White Clover ( Trifolium repens), Black Medick ( Medicago lupulina), Wood Sorrel (genus Oxalis) and Red Clover ( Trifolium pratense). Charels Nelson of the National Botanical Gardens in Dublin, found that 46% of the samples of “real shamrock” sent in by the Irish public was Trifolium dubium or Yellow Clover. The Irish themselves are undecided as to which plant is the “true shamrock”. The word “shamrock” itself, comes from the Irish seamair óg, which means “young clover”.

In Ireland, “shamrock” is most often used to refer to the three leaf clover or Trifolium species, Trifolium dubium, or Trifolium repens. While one usually tends to think of only the green leaves of a shamrock, it also has flowers. The flower of the shamrock, which is most commonly identified as the clover species Trifolium dubium, or Trifolium repens, is the national flower of Ireland. What is the national flower of Ireland? Lesser Trefoil or yellow clover (Trifolium dubium ) is most typically the flower associated with shamrock.

This article will introduce you to some of Ireland’s most beautiful native, wild Irish flowers, the habitats that these common Irish flowers grow in and some of the threats that they now face.Įnjoy the flowers of Ireland images and maybe even learn a bit of Irish as the Irish flower names for these plants are included too! In addition to the native Irish plants and flowers, many other plant species have been both accidentally or intentionally introduced (such as ornamental garden plants) over the time. These are plants that have over thousands of years adapted to the Irish climate and soil conditions. There are thought to be about 850 native Irish plants and 28 native trees. Given the fact that Ireland is an island, it is not that surprising that the number of native flowers Ireland has is less than that of its nearby European neighbors. Ireland is home to many beautiful flowering species and a range of unique habitats.

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