Disclaimer: Nearly all of this page is derived from Wikipedia and includes speculation by a reader. Have doubt and correct inaccuracies.
Monotropa has it's own flora. Some may have been introduced by travelers from Earth. Where the author has directly stated the correspondences, they are stated as true.
Amaryllis
Amaryllis (Abeille's mother) might be named after plants of the genus Hippeastrum, which are sold as Amaryllis[1].
She might be named after plants of the genus Amaryllis, instead. Amaryllis belladona, known as Naked ladies, and as Belladona lily[2].
Amaryllis is also the name of a family (Amaryllidaceae[3]), in a plant taxonomy. The family includes Daffodils (Narcissus), African Lily (Agapanthus) and Onions (Allium).
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Aster
Aster is possibly named after flowering plants of the genus Aster.
There are also plants called Aster that have been reclassified.
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Birch
Birch is possibly named after trees of the genus Betula.
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Camellia
Tsubaki might be named after a Camellia flower.
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Cedar
Cedar might be named after a Cedar tree.
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Chestnut
Gardeners appear to be picking chestnuts starting on Chapter 19 Pg.23.
American chestnut trees were mostly wiped out by a blight in the early 20th century.
Chestnut trees have male and female flowers. In the picture below, 3 female flowers, in the center, are surrounded by male flowers.
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Cloudberries
Ivy mentions an incident in which Abeille's parents had sent her live Cloudberries, which died (early on, we often see dead plants in Abeille's dwelling, which is ironic since she has traveled to Monotropa to grow a garden and she meets a falls for a Botanist) Chapter 2 Pg.5.
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Clove
Clove is probably named after the Clove plant, since he is portrayed with one, among the bonus content in Volume 1.
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Cordia
Cordia might be named after a fruit that is found in Indian pickle.
Cordia dichotoma has some charming names:
Fragrant manjack
Pink pearl
Glue berry
Indian cherry
Other, Cordia include:
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Coriander
Coriander might be named after Coriandrum sativum.
Coriander is also called Cilantro.
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Daisy
Daisy might be named after the flowering plant Bellis perennis.
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Eyebright
Eyebright industries, the company that Abeille and many other characters are employed by, might be named after the herb Eyebright.
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Fern
Fern might be named after a fern...
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Hellebore
Poppy travelled to Monotropa, from the planet Hellebores. The name might be associated with flowering plants in the genus Helleborus.
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Holly
Holly might be named after plants of the genus Ilex.
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Ivy
Ivy might be named after plants of the genus Hedera.
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Jasmine
Jasmine might be named after plants of the genus Jasaminum.
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Laurel
Laurel might be named after Bay Laurel.
Bay leaves are used as food ingredients and are burned for their fragrance.
A Laurel wreath has been used as symbol of victory.
Kalmia latifolia is commonly called Mountain laurel.
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Lace flower
A love not found reader appeared in a cameo: Layce. A reader suggested naming the character after Lace flower[4], or Queen Anne's lace:
Another "Lace flower" is False Queen Anne's lace:
A hanakotoba (flower words) is "pretty heart".
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Lilac
A children's play takes place at Lilac elementary school. Lilac might refer to the flowering plant Syringa vulgaris.
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Mallow
Mallow might be named after plants of the genus Malva, such as Malva parviflora, a tenacious plant that can be found growing in vacant lots and through cracks in concrete.
The color Mauve, might be named after the color of the flower of some Mallow species[5]:
Another plant associated with Mallow might be Marshmallow.
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Marigold
Marigold might be named after plants of the genus Calendula.
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Marshmallow
Mallow might be named after Marshmallow.
Marshmallow is the original ingredient which the food Marshmallow was made from.
Marshmallow root extract is also applied to human hair to remove tangles and matted curly hair. Mallow doesn't appear to know about this treatment.
Another plant which could be associated with Mallow is Mallow.
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Monotropa uniflora
Perhaps the single most significant plant reference, in the story, is Monotropa uniflora as the author states the planet Monotropa is named after the flower. Miel gives Abeille a live plant of the species, as a gift.
It is noted, in the story, that this is an extraordinary gift to give, since it is extremely difficult to transplant. Abeille's dwelling is also filled with dead plants at the time, which combined with the fact that she has traveled to Monotropa to honor her dead sister by planting a garden, makes the act more significant.
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Narcissus jonquilla
Aster gives Ivy Daffodils, as a gift. She, a horticulturalist, notes the "scientific name" Narcissus jonquilla.
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Olive
Olive might be named after the plant species Olea europaea
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Pasque flower
Abeille was born on the planet Pasque. The name might relate to Pasque flowers.
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Pear
Apios is Greek for "Pear". Maybe it's his figure, or one he dreams of having, or one Olive, his wife, sees.
"Pear" possibly refers to the fruit of trees of the genus Pyrus, in a plant taxonomy. Pyrus communis (European pear), for example.
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Peony
Botan is named after flowers of plants in the genus Paeonia.
Botan's sister Tsubaki, and he, are named after flowers that might be thought to look similar.
Tsubaki is named after a Camellia flower.
A flower meaning of Peony is "bravery"[6]. The author cited a Japanese folktale The princess Peony as an example of a flower meaning (hanakotoba) of Peony flowers, in Japan.
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Petunia
Petunia might be named after plants of the genus Petunia.
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Poppy
Poppy might be named after plants in the subfamily Papaveroideae.
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Sunflower
A significant moment in the relationship between Abeille and Miel, is when Miel is working on adapting earth species to Monotropa by grafting Sunflowers onto Monotropian plants and Abeille asks him about it. There is a lot more to it than that. But, the Sunflower comes to be symbolic of Miel, from that moment.
The sunflower might be Helianthus annuus.
The grafted plants on the cover of chapter 4 show the flower faces.
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Thistle
Thistle might be named after plants in the genus Cirsium.
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Tulip
Tulip might be named after plants in the genus Tulipa.
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Verbena
Verbena might be named after plants in the genus Verbena.
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Yew
Evette might be named after Taxus baccata, the European Yew.
Evette is a feminine form of the name Yves, which means Yew.
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Flower meanings
Flower meanings are probably a difficult thing to determine. Flowers are given meaning by where they are found. In mythology a flower's meaning might be partially tied to the story they appear in. There might be references within references to what meaning a flower was given and what meaning a reference to that reference had.
Like other symbols, symbolism has a use and the symbol is as valuable as the use it is put to. Love not found surely has it's own flower meanings and those are more important than what a list of meanings might offer.
Some collections of flower meanings are:
- Hanakotoba Hanaktoba (Japanese)
- Doubts about the Hanakotoba page
- Language of flowers
- Language of flowers text (Project Cutenberg)
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References
- ↑ Hippeastrum indicates that Hippeastrum are sold as Amaryllis.
- ↑ Amaryllis describes the genus and Amaryllis belladonna. Naked lady gives the alternate name "Naked ladies", that I find used in gardening supply stores.
- ↑ Amaryllidaceae describes the family and that Daffodils, African Lilies and Onions are included.
- ↑ Laceflower attributes this name to several plants.
- ↑ Mauve makes this claim
- ↑ Hanakotoba
