How Do I Identify Flowers by Color?

How do I identify flowers by color?  If you only identify flowers by color, then you won’t be able to narrow the choices down enough to tell you the exact flower.  The way to identify flowers by color, therefore, is to start with the color to eliminate certain flowers and then look at other characteristic, like the shape. 

Zen’s WNC Nature Notebook is a great site to help you identify flowers by color. 

• You look at the chart and pick the color and shape of the flower. 
• Simply click on the icon and you will be taken to a list of flowers that are that color and shape. 
• Color choices are: blue, brown, green, orange, purple, pink and red, white, and yellow. 
• Shape choices are: simple flower, ray flower, long cluster, rounds cluster, odd shaped, and seed and fruit.  

For example: 

• Ray Flower and Blue shows you the aster.
• Round Cluster and Orange, you get either a Butterfly Weed or a Flame Azalea.
• Long Cluster and Purple is the Larkspur.

Identifying Wildflowers

If you are more interested in learning how to identify wildflowers by color, there is a good guide on Audubon Guides.  It has flowers grouped by the shape and then the color.  There are a few examples of each different type along with photos.  The shapes and photos listed include, for example: 

• Radially Symmetrical Flowers - the symmetry of a wheel - Wood Poppy, Wild Blue Phlox, and Large-flower Trillium.
• Rounded Clusters - flat or rounded cluster at the end of a stalk - Globe Gilia, Alpine Wallflower, and New York Ironweed.

These are just two samples taken from the many lists available on Audubon Guides.

Canadian Flowers

If you live in Western Canada, there is an excellent site for identifying flowers in Canada.  Mountain Nature is the best place to start if you want to identify flowers of Western Canada by color. 

• The website takes you step-by-step, starting with the color, to narrow down the selection of plants. 
• For example, after clicking on Blue or Purple Flowers, you will be given a choice of flower shape. 
• If you click on Tubular or Bell-Like Flowers, the list of these flowers are: Gentians, Ground ivy, Harebell/Bluebell, Lungwort, Penstemon, and Self-heal.  At that point you can click on any of them to see a picture and description.

This is a brief sample taken from Mountain Nature and if you wish for a complete list or a wider selection of flowers, you should visit their website.

Color of Flowers and their Meanings

Now that you can answer the question of how you identify flowers by color, let’s look at what certain colors of flowers have come to represent.  Probably one of the first flowers that comes to mind after reading that sentence is the red rose, because it stands for love.  Let’s look at the colors of roses and their symbolic meaning:

• Red = love, beauty, perfection
• Pink = admiration, grace, elegance, joyfulness
• Yellow - warm feelings, happiness, friendship
• White = purity, innocence, new beginnings, remembrance
• Orange = desire, enthusiasm, passion, excitement
• Lavender = enchantment, love at first sight

Flowers other than roses also have symbolic meanings:

• Red flowers symbolize energy, desire, strength, beauty, courage, and love.
• Pink flowers stand for happiness, grace, youth, joy, and innocence.
• Purple flowers represent royalty, ceremony, dignity, success, pride, and admiration. 
• Yellow flowers symbolize joy, lightheartedness, friendship, new beginning, and happiness.
• Blue flowers denote peace, serenity, openness, and can calm worries and anxiety.
• White flowers represent innocence, humility, reverence, simple beauty, modesty, and elegance.
• Orange flowers stand for enthusiasm, energy, warmth, confidence, satisfaction, and a passion for life.
• Green flowers symbolize health, youth, good fortune, resilience, optimism, and renewal.
• Lavender flowers denote grace, refinement, feminine beauty, and elegance.

So, now you know not only how to identify flowers by color, but you also have a list of what some of the colors of flowers mean.