Types of Flowers — an A–Z of flower varieties & names
A public, structured catalog of flower types and varieties for working florists, designers, journalists, students, and curious buyers. Every commercial cut flower with its names, colors, seasonality, vase life, conditioning, symbolism, and substitutes — the data we use inside our studio and academy, opened for the industry.
Entries marked ✦ come from the Acanta master catalogue — the shared database of cut flowers, forms, colours and named varieties that florists and studios build on. The rest are our editorial genus reference. What is Acanta →
Agapanthus blue
Agapanthus white
Allium Giganteum
Allium Mount Everest
Allium Purple Sensation
Nectaroscordum (Sicilian honey garlic)
Alstroemeria Charmelia Rose
Alstroemeria Jubilee
Alstroemeria Noverdi pink
Alstroemeria Virginia
Orange alstroemeria
Purple alstroemeria
Red alstroemeria
Amaranthus caudatus green (Viridis)
Amaranthus caudatus red
Amaranthus Green Thumb
Amaranthus Hot Biscuits
Preserved amaranthus
Amaryllis Ferrari
Amaryllis Mont Blanc
Types of flowers by their role in floral design
Florists sort flowers not by botany but by the job they do in an arrangement. Every bouquet is built from four types:
Focal flowers
Large, bold blooms that draw the eye and anchor the design.
- Agapanthus
- Allium
- Amaryllis
- Anemone
- Anthurium
- Asiatic Lily
- Banksia
- Bird of paradise
- Calendula
- Calla lily
- Camellia
- Carnation
- Cattleya Orchid
- Celosia
- Chocolate Cosmos
- Chrysanthemum
- Clematis
- Cosmos
- Costus
- Cotton
- Crab Apple
- Craspedia
- Cymbidium orchid
- Daffodil
- Dahlia
- Dendrobium Orchid
- Double tulip
- Easter Lily
- Echinacea
- Eryngium
- Fritillaria
- Gaillardia
- Garden nasturtium
- Garden rose
- Gardenia
- Gerbera
- Gloriosa Lily
- Grape hyacinth
- Heliconia
- Hellebore
- Hibiscus
- Hyacinth
- Hydrangea
- Iceland Poppy
- Iris
- King Protea
- Leucadendron
- Lilac
- Lisianthus
- Lotus Pod
- Magnolia
- Marigold
- Medinilla
- Mokara Orchid
- Nerine
- Oriental lily
- Oriental Poppy
- Peony
- Phalaenopsis orchid
- Pincushion Protea
- Poppy
- Poppy Pod
- Protea
- Ranunculus
- Red Ginger
- Rudbeckia
- Scabiosa
- Schubert Allium
- Shasta Daisy
- Standard rose
- Sunflower
- Thistle
- Tithonia
- Torch Ginger
- Tulip
- Vanda Orchid
- Viburnum
- Zinnia
Filler flowers
Small or clustered blooms that fill space, soften gaps and add texture.
- Achillea
- Ageratum
- Agrostemma
- Alstroemeria
- Ammi
- Aster
- Astilbe
- Astrantia
- Baltic Parsley
- Beautyberry
- Blackberry Branch
- Blue Lace Flower
- Blue Lace Flower
- Bouvardia
- Brodiaea
- Broomcorn
- Bupleurum
- Canary Grass
- Cerinthe
- Chamomile
- Chinese Lantern
- Coreopsis
- Cornflower
- Crocus
- Daucus (False Queen Anne's Lace)
- Dill
- Feather Grass
- Feverfew
- Freesia
- Globe amaranth
- Godetia
- Great Burnet
- Greater Quaking Grass
- Guelder Rose Berries
- Gypsophila
- Harlequin Flower
- Helenium
- Honesty
- Hypericum Berry
- Ilex (winter berry)
- Jasmine
- Lagurus (bunny tail grass)
- Lavender
- Lily of the valley
- Nicotiana
- Nigella
- Oncidium Orchid
- Orlaya
- Ornamental Oregano
- Ornithogalum
- Ozothamnus (rice flower)
- Paperwhite
- Phlox
- Pink Pepperberry
- Privet Berry
- Pyracantha
- Rosehip
- Rowan
- Salpiglossis
- Saponaria
- Skimmia
- Smokebush
- Snowberry
- Snowflake
- Solidago
- Spray rose
- Squill
- Statice
- Stephanotis
- Strawflower
- Sweet pea
- Sweet Rocket
- Sweet William
- Switch Grass
- Tall Verbena
- Throatwort
- Triplet Lily
- Tweedia
- Veronica
- Viburnum Tinus
- Waxflower
Line flowers
Tall, spiky stems that give height, movement and the outline of the design.
- Amaranthus
- Angelonia
- Aranda Orchid
- Bells of Ireland
- Bugle Lily
- Camassia
- Canterbury Bells
- Cherry Blossom
- Chinese Silver Grass
- Clarkia
- Crocosmia
- Culver's Root
- Curly Willow
- Delphinium
- Forsythia
- Foxglove
- Foxtail Lily
- Foxtail Millet
- Gladiolus
- Ixia
- Kangaroo Paw
- Larkspur
- Leucothoe
- Liatris
- Lupine
- Matthiola
- Monkshood
- Mountain Fleece
- Oats
- Obedient Plant
- Pampas grass
- Peacock Orchid
- Penstemon
- Pineapple Lily
- Pussy Willow
- Red Hot Poker
- Salvia
- Sea Buckthorn
- Sidalcea
- Snapdragon
- Summer Hyacinth
- Teasel
- Tuberose
- Wheat
Greenery and foliage
Leaves, branches and grasses that frame flowers and build the base.
- Akebia
- Areca palm frond
- Asparagus Fern
- Aspidistra
- Banana Leaf
- Bay Laurel
- Boxwood
- Caladium Leaf
- Calathea Leaf
- Cotoneaster
- Dicranopteris fern
- Dusty Miller
- Eucalyptus Baby Blue
- Eucalyptus Gunnii
- Fatsia Leaf
- Galax
- Grevillea
- Hebe
- Honeysuckle Vine
- Hops
- Huckleberry
- Ivy
- Lamb's Ear
- Leatherleaf Fern
- Magnolia Leaf
- Maidenhair Fern
- Ming Fern
- Mint
- Monstera Leaf
- Muehlenbeckia
- Myrtle
- Olive Branch
- Passionflower Vine
- Philodendron Leaf
- Pistacia
- Pittosporum
- Rosemary
- Ruscus
- Salal
- Scented Geranium
- Seeded eucalyptus
- Silver dollar eucalyptus
- Smilax
- Sprengeri Fern
- Star Jasmine
- Sword Fern
- Ti Leaf
- Virginia Creeper
Every entry documents a single commercially cultivated species or cultivar group — the flowers that actually appear in wholesale markets, flower shops, and professional studios. For each flower you'll find its natural peak season by hemisphere, typical vase life in days, the conditioning steps that extend longevity, its role in floral design (filler, focal, texture, line), colour range, price tier relative to market average, and a curated list of substitutes ranked by visual and structural similarity.
The data underpins the tools on this site — the substitute finder, the seasonality calendar, and the map of where flowers grow — and is the same reference our studio and academy use when sourcing and teaching. We review it against wholesale price sheets and agronomic calendars quarterly.
Licensing: the catalog is open for non-commercial use, citation in articles, educational materials, and personal projects. Commercial reproduction — scraped datasets, syndicated pages, AI-training corpora — requires a separate licence. See the full licence terms for details.
