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William Courtenay, 3rd Viscount Courtenay and 9th Earl of Devon (1768–1835), has been most remembered for his romantic relationship with author and slave owner, William Beckford (1760–1844), which scandalized London society in 1784. However, the 9th Earl's life after this event has received little attention despite his artistic contributions to the built environment of his ancestral home of Powderham Castle in Devon. In the 1790s, he created a series of flower watercolors on paper and cabinets under the supervision of his drawing master, William Marshall Craig (c.1765–1827). These artworks complicate ideas about gendered expectations of amateur artistic subjects, with flower painting being largely understood as a feminine accomplishment. This article explores the Earl's watercolors in the context of the spaces at Powderham to argue they are evidence of his effeminate behavior and participation in female activities alongside his thirteen sisters. The association of these objects with a man attracted to those of his own sex contribute to studies of queerness, amateur art, and the country house in the late eighteenth century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Around a third of Clara Schumann's vocal compositions include references to flowers, whether as passing metaphors or as the principal addressee of her chosen text. At first glance this may seem unremarkable given the central place flowers held in the symbology of Romantic literature. But the survival of documents such as the Blumenbuch für Robert (1854–56) , in which she collected flowers from her travels around Europe, demonstrate a personal and distinctly feminine engagement with nineteenth-century floral practices beyond the vegetative poetics of male-authored poetry. This article examines the ways in which Clara Schumann engages with the overlapping floral discourses and media of the nineteenth century in four of her flower-centric lieder: 'Die stille Lotosblume', 'An einem lichten Morgen', 'Was weinst du, Blümlein' and 'Das Veilchen'. In these songs, flowers are explicitly gendered through their material conflation with women's bodies and relationship to a (typically male) lyric persona. I show how Schumann often uses her piano accompaniments to undermine the male construction of passive flowers by granting flowers an emergent agency in her settings. In so doing, Schumann is able to protect the stubborn silences of flowers or reify their secret desires. Flowers in these lieder thus emerge as radically polysemic and multimodal symbols, not only hinting at a myriad of possible meanings, but also reflecting a mode of feminine authorship that can be recalcitrant, revealing and tactfully mutable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the study is to analyse the scientific literature to update the problems associated with the study of the symbolism of flowers and its interpretations. The methodology of the work is based on comparative historical and comparative typological methods, which make it possible to establish the complexity and ramifications of the problem of colour symbolism; The cognitive approach made it possible to identify the dependence of the use of interpretive capabilities of colour symbolism on the formation of the emotional component for the disclosure of contents and associations. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the addition of scientific literature with new studies of colour symbolism. Conclusions. Based on the study of scientific literature, it is possible to determine the relevance of problems associated with the symbolism of flowers and its specificity. Acquaintance with the works of scientists (P. Zholtovsky, A. Kondratyuk, A. Lopukhina, L. Milyaev, F. Umantsev) made it possible to determine the directions of research of the monument and the lack of works on the symbolism of flowers in the painting of the temple. The scientific works of V. Ovsiychuk and M. Pastoureau became the basis of the theory and history of the study of flowers. The timeliness of the research is confirmed by the developments of foreign institutions and scholars, in particular, the problem of: colour psychology (H. Brem); colour theory (M. Oswald, Weingarten University of Education, German Colour Centre, University of Halle-Wittenberg); global visual communication by colour (T. Fassati). During the heyday of Baroque art, the masters of the Lavra art school used the symbolism of flowers in a new way in the ensemble of paintings of the Trinity Gate Church. Mysticism prevails in the picturesque palette of the church. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous studies have identified traits associated with anther mimicry; however, the processes underlying floral deception remain poorly documented for these structures. We studied the importance of pollinator attraction and mechanical fit of anther mimics in Tritonia laxifolia (Iridaceae) and their relative contributions to reproductive success. To determine anther mimics role in attraction, we offered bees' binary choices to flowers painted with UV‐absorbent and UV‐reflecting paints. We also conducted preference experiments between flowers with excised anther mimics and unmanipulated controls, from which mechanical fit was assessed by allowing single visits. Anther mimics' effects on female reproductive success were determined using similar treatments, but on rooted plants. Bees preferred UV‐absorbent over UV‐reflecting anther mimics. Bees did not discriminate between flowers with and without three‐dimensional anther mimics. Single visits resulted in more pollen deposition on unmanipulated controls over flowers with their anther mimics excised, which was directly linked to pollen‐collecting behavior. Controls with unmanipulated anther mimics had higher seed set than those with their anther mimics excised. This study provides insights into pollinator‐mediated selection on deceptive floral signals and shows that three‐dimensional anther mimics increases reproductive success through both attraction and pollen‐collecting behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People have an ancient and strong bond to flowers, which are known to have a positive effect on the mood. During the COVID-19 pandemic, sales of ornamental plants increased, and many turned to gardening, possibly as a way to cope with ubiquitous increases in negative mood following lockdowns and social isolation. The nature of the special bond between humans and flowers requires additional elucidation. To this means, we conducted a comprehensive online mixed methods study, surveying 253 individuals (ages 18–83) from diverse ethnic backgrounds and continents, regarding their thoughts and feelings towards photos of flowers, nature scenes and flower drawings. We found that looking at pictures and drawings of flowers, as well as nature scenes induced positive emotions, and participants reported a variety of positive responses to the images. More specifically, we found associations of flowers with femininity, and connotations to particular flowers that were affected by geographical location. While nature scene photos induced positive reactions, flower photos were preferred, denying a mere substitution of nature by flowers and vice versa. Drawings of flowers elicited less positive emotions than photos, as people related more to the art than to the flower itself. Our study reveals the importance of ornamental flowers and nature in our life and well-being, and as such their cultivation and promotion are essential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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One of the elements that come to mind when human, art and aesthetics are mentioned is flowers that are the ornament of the earth with its beauty. Besides being a material for every branch of art with their beautiful colours, shapes and fragrances, flowers are also mentioned in literary works. Within this context, Classical Turkish poets who are apparently good observers of nature give place to flowers extensively in their works. The poets that belong to before mentioned poetic tradition benefit from the literary arts, combine their abilities with their artistic powers and almost present a colourful flower garden. In this article, we dealt with a eulogy whose radif "çiğdem/crocus" that is involved in the Diwan of Ahmed-i Rıdvan who is one of the Classical Turkish poets in 17th century. As it is seen in his own words, the poet was also a banner lord and served in sanjaks of Hamid and Teke. Consequently, using "çiğdem/crocus" which is a rare flower in Classical Turkish poetry as a radif in a euolgy brings to mind that Ahmed-i Rıdvan saw this endemic flower named crocus Antalyensis during his service. We dealt with what kind of flower the crocus is, associations of it, thoughts and apprehensions in the eulogy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consciousness feigns invisibility like a rain of pollen Pollen thou art, and unto flower shal... When Spring comes, the pollen grains leap into the void. La conciencia simula ser invisible como una lluvia de polen Polen eres y en flor te convertirás / Consciousness feigns invisibility like a rain of pollen Pollen thou art, and unto flower shalt thou become Si hay lluvia pueden resbalarse sobre las gotas y, si no hay, aprovechan la fuerza del viento para rodar entre los rayos del sol. [Extracted from the article]

A report is offered from an October 6-7, 2011 conference in Berlin, Germany on floriography. Topics of presentations given included the dancing flowers in the "Wittrock" ballet, representations of flowers in the pottery of ancient Greece, and the depictions of plants and flowers in churches in the Middle Ages.

The Lattice Locale for Fire 121 flowers and steps in the boolean lattice only three of the lines to change, then we would get a sublattice that was the same shape as the trigram lattice in Figure 6. This is derived from the probabilities of the traditional yarrow stalk divination method, where a yang line changing to yin is three times more likely than a yin line changing to yang. The Lattice Locale for 60 Limitation 123 flowers and steps in the boolean lattice particular hexagram generates a sublattice. The Bigram Lattice 119 flowers and steps in the boolean lattice as before, the lattice structure encodes the relative amounts of yin and yang in the figures. [Extracted from the article]

Several photographs of the beauty of nature are presented including petals of a flower, dew on a leaf, and stamens of a flower.

Delves into the language of flowers according to the artistic views and presentation of artist Juan Manuel Echavarría. Description of the flowers that assembles into like human bones; Account on the art of José Celestino Mutis; Relationship between flowers and death; Usability of the mandrake or mandragora during historical times; Views of Georges Bataille, editor of the magazine 'Documents' on the connection of flowers to humans.

The article provides information on the biology and symbolism of cornflowers. Also known as Centaurea cyanus, cornflowers are under the Asteraceae-Tubuliflorae class with flowers featuring tubular corollas in their inflorescence. The essences of cornflower were used as a treatment for eye disorders. Beginning from the 18th dynasty until the Greek-Roman period, florists utilized cornflower heads for grave decorations.