Since 1908, each of Sweden’s 25 provinces (landskap) has its own animal, coat of arms, flag and flower to define its identity.
Stockholm, for example, is on the border of two provinces – Uppland and Södermanland. The flower of Uppland is the beautiful ‘kungsängslilja’ (snake’s head fritillary). Södermanland has the floating ‘vit näkros’ (white water lily).
Other official provincial flowers include heather, daisy, honeysuckle, forget-me-not, lily of the valley, cowslip and, interestingly in Blekinge, they have the English oak.
Some provinces have been in disagreement for over 100 years on which flower to settle on – so they have two. To see the full list, go to the following link: http://www.ugglemor1.se/Hembygd/sweden-flowers.htm or https://swedesinthestates.com/swedens-provincial-flowers/
In 2021, Sweden’s new national flower was chosen in a public vote. The winner? The colourful and ubiquitous harebell, also known as the small bluebell (in Swedish Blåklocka’.)
I’m from County Durham in the UK, where we have the vivid spring gentian as our county flower. The UK national flower is, since the 1400’s, the Tudor rose.
What’s the national or provincial/county flower where you come from?