You may be surprised that there are a huge amount of Flowers That start WIth T. For one reason or another, T is a repeated letter at the beginning of many plant names.
We’ve curated a list of our favorite flowers that begin with T – this is a great list for anyone trying to learn about plants. On the other hand, these lists are great for remembering specific nomenclature of plants.
1. Talinum
The talinum is a herbaceous plant of which there are many sub species which vary in use. The plant is technically considered a succulent as well. Some common colloquial names for the Talinum are the fameflower or the flameflower. In general the plant is endemic to Africa, Madagascar, and the Americas.
The family of Talinaceae the Talinum flower originates from is a relatively new family that is result of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group III system which is modern reorganisation of plant categorises as a result of new molecular research on plant genetics.
The flower of the Talinum plant is very dainty and small and is commonly edible and thus used in culinary settings. What’s more is that Talinum fruticosum is widely grown as a leaf vegetable due to its succulent and tender leaves.
2. Tanacetum
Tanacetum is a rather large genus of flowering plants that are part of the Aster family, Asteraceae. They are endemic to the Northern hemisphere and quite easy to spot as they appear in almost all of mainland Europe and commonly in Britain. Although they have been found elsewhere on the continent.
Tanacetum have flowering heads that can differ greatly, while the vulgare cultivar has a round head made of fine flowers, the balsamita and corymbosum varieties are much smaller and daisy-like. WHile they have their own ornamental and decorative quality, the Tanacetum has some other interesting usage in history.
Beyond the medicinal uses of the 8th century and beyond, which aren’t necessarily based on science. There is proven evidence that Tanacetum, especially Tanacetum vulgare, was regularly used as an insect repellent.
Many stuff Tanacetum into a variety of vessels which need to be insect repellent, during the 19th century it was used so much at funerals and in coffins that it gained an association with death. Moreover, they wrapped food in Tanacetum in order to stop insects eating it during the voyage.
3. Telopea (Waratah)
The Telopea is a flowering shrub endemic to Australia. ‘Waratah’ refers to the Aboriginal Eora people who were the pre-colonial inhabitants of what we now recognise as Sydney. AS a result the most well known species is the Telopea speciosissima which is the New South Wales emblem.
The plant is most well known for its unique and interesting inflorescence. The Telopea genus has one of the more interesting flowering processes that is pretty unique to Australia. The general Proteaceae family breed plants whose inflorescence is often a very large head of individual flowers that are made compact. Telopea is a long lasting plant that is not just perennial but re-sprouts specifically after bushfires.
When there is fire damage on a plant, they commonly form what is known as a lignotuber, a large swelling that acts as protection so new stems may sprout. This is how the Telopea flowers, after many fires that cause these lignotubers, the flowering head of the Telopea emerges from this modified stem.
As a result of this interesting flowering process they have become popular with curious gardeners but are generally hard to cultivate with such a unique flowering process although this can be achieved. Many choose to propagate the plant instead.
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4. Tabernaemontana
This flowering plant with a mouthful of a name is an interesting one that is popular in both domestic gardening as well as medicinal or shamanic uses of botany. They can be a small tree or evergreen shrub that can go from 1-15m tall depending on their environment.
There is an enormous array of subspecies within this genus that differ widely – some produce flowers while some produce large fruits. If you think the plant can go from 1 – 15 metres high then you can understand how much variety there will be. Generally, the plant is found in pan-tropical environments and enjoys hot, humid weather.
On the one hand, the Tabernaemontana Divaricata, this cultivar called ‘Plena’ is a very popular and common houseplant. It’s flowers are double petaled and resemble a rose however ‘Pleana’ is commonly white. In addition the Tabernaemontana divaricata species is also what is known as the ‘pinwheel flower’ thanks to its cool petal design all of which seem to spin like a pinwheel.
On the other hand, many sub species of Tabernaemontana are utilised by shamans for their creation of some psychedelic compounds. The well-known psychedelic drink ayahuasca can often contain some variety of Tabernaemontana as some species are known to contain ibogaine, other species have derivatives of ibogaine that can be used to create a compound version of Ibogaine.
Many other species have other medical uses such as T.sanaho which is a form of anxiety medication technically, as well as T.heterophylla being a dementia treatment.
5. Tibouchina
Tibouchina is a genus of flowering plant that can be a herb, shrub or tree and is of the Melastomataceae family. They are native to the South Americas as well as the Carribean islands but have been found as northerly as Argentina. There are over 240 species of TIbouchina.
They very commonly have purple flowers that are usually made up of 5 petals. Their foliage is often short and round and is quite attractive. The flower is commonly a hair accessory among women in the Americas. Tibouchina blooms in late spring and can produce flowers until the fall.
While the flower is most commonly purple there are species that have variegated flowers as well as white. The plant is a popular cultivar for ornamental and decorative house plants.
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6. Tulipa (AKA Tulips)
We all will be able to recognise a Tulip, right? They are a flower that bloom in spring making them popular for the early season.
The flowers are large and come in many different colors, they have an enclosed system of petals within a head, sort of like a rose but taller rather than wide.
What may surprise some, is that the Tulip is very closely related to Lillies, as a result of it being a member of the Liliaceae family. There are around 75 species that are split into four sub-categories.
Historically, Tulips were found mainly in a band stretching from central Asia to Southern Europe, but the plant is now widely naturalised into nearly all biomes and environments thanks to cultivation. Their endemic environment is usually temperate mountain areas but grow widely now.
By the tenth century Tulips were already being cultivated within the Ottoman empire for their prized reputation. Although, they weren’t cultivated in the west until the sixteenth century.
Tulips were cultivated so widely among Europeans that there was a period within the Dutch Golden Age many refer to as ‘Tulip Mania’. Between 1634-1637 the price of Tulip bulbs grew hugely and were then drastically reduced.
At one point a Tulip bulb could be over five times the yearly wage of even a middle-class Dutchen during the period. THis was believed to be one of the first ‘economic bubbles’ and thus ‘tulip madness’ has become a term among the business world to describe modern economic bubbles. Something similar happened with Avocados in the early Millennial era where the fruit increased by nearly 200%.
As a result, Tulips have become the national flower of the Netherlands even though their endemic region was actually Asia originally. It’s hard to say any other flower receives the fiscal and economic treatment that Tulips did during the sixteenth century and as a result they hold a specific place in horticultural history.
7. Trifolium (Clover)
This is another well known plant that begin with T. The clover or Trifolium is a species of flowering plant in the legume family. The clover has essentially made its way into almost every genome imaginable, but has its highest diversity within the temperate Northern hemisphere.
The clover is perhaps most well known for its potential to have four leaves. Most commonly the foliage contains three leaves, but there is some low chance of genetic variation of four leaf clovers which have become syndicated in many Western cultures, especially Irish.
Although, there is just as much chance that they can have 6 or 8 or any number of leaves. Their flowers change with species but generally are tall dense spikes of flowers that come in many colors.
Conclusion
So as you can see, there are many many flowers that have the letter T at the start of their name. Tulip is likely the most recognised flower that starts with T, and is likely one of the most well known flowers in history as we explained. In addition to Tulips there are a plethora of other flowering plants that shouldn’t be overlooked and have just as much of an interesting history.
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