For key to sources, see the home page.
| Flower | Meaning | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1853 | 1883(I) | 1883(II) | 1885/1892 | 1899 | |
| Madder | Calumny | Calumny | Calumny | ||
| Magnolia
(1853: A beautiful tree of many varieties; large white or cream-colored flowers.---United States and China) |
Love of Nature | Love of Nature. | Love of Nature. | Love of nature, magnificence | |
| Magnolia, Chinese | Love of Nature | ||||
| Magnolia, Grandiflora | Peerless and proud | ||||
| Magnolia, Swamp | Perseverance | Perseverance | |||
| Maiden's Hair | Discretion | Discretion | |||
| Maize
(1853: Better known as Indian corn, a native of tropical America.) |
Riches | ||||
| Mallow
(1853: A tall plant, cultivated for its singular foliage.---Syria.) |
Good and kind. | Sweetness | Mildness | ||
| Mallow, Marsh | Beneficience | ||||
| Mallow, Syrian | Consumed by love. | Persuasion | |||
| Mallow, Venetian | Delicate beauty. | ||||
| Manchineal/Manchineel Tree | Falseness | Falsehood | |||
| Mandrake | Horror | Rarity | Horror | Honor | |
| Maple
(1853: Useful and beautiful tree, of the temperate zone, many varieties, some of which produce beautiful flowers.) |
Reserve | Reserve | Reserve | Reserve | |
| Marigold | Cruelty | Sacred affection | Grief | Grief, trouble, pain | |
| Marigold, African | Vulgar-minded | Vulgar minds. | Vulgar minded | ||
| Marigold, French | Jealousy | Jealousy | Jealousy | ||
| Marigold, Garden | Grief; Chagrin. | ||||
| Marigold, Prophetic | Prediction | ||||
| Marigold, Rainy | A storm. | ||||
| Marigold, Small Cape | Omen, sign | ||||
| Marigold and Cypress | Despair | Dispair [sic] | |||
| Marjoram | Blushes | Blushes | Blushes | Blushes | |
| Marshmallow | Beneficience | Beneficience | |||
| Marvel of Peru (Four o'clock) | Timidity | Timidity | Timidity | Timidity | |
| Mayflower | Welcome | Welcome | |||
| Meadow Lychnis | Wit | ||||
| Meadow Saffron | My best days gone. | My best days are past | My best days are past. | Growing old | |
| Meadow Sweet | Usefulness | Uselessness | Uselessness | ||
| Mercury | Goodness | ||||
| Mesembryanthemum | Idleness | ||||
| Mezereon | Desire to please. | Desire to please. | A flirt | ||
| Michaelmas Daisy | Afterthought | ||||
| Mignonette
(1853: A very fragrant Annual from Egypt.) |
Moral and mental beauty. | Your qualities surpass your charms. | Your qualities surpass your charms. | Your qualities surpass your charms. | Worth and loveliness |
| Milfoil | War | War | |||
| Milkweed | Hope in misery. | ||||
| Milvetch | Your presence softens my pains. | ||||
| Milkwort | Hermitage | ||||
| Mimosa
(1853: A very tender annual, whose leaves shrink at the slightest touch.--Brazil) |
Sensitiveness | Sensitiveness | Sensitiveness | ||
| Minchineel Tree | Hypocrisy | ||||
| Mint | Virtue | Virtue | Virtue | Virtue | |
| Mistletoe
(1853: Parasitic plants, deriving nourishment from the sap of trees on which they grow--Europe and the United States.) |
Obstacles to be overcome. | I surmount all difficulties. | I surmount everything | I surmount difficulties. | I surmount all obstacles |
| Mittaria Coccinea | Indolence | ||||
| Mock Orange (Syringia) | Counterfeit | Counterfeit; Uncertainty. | Counterfeit | Counterfeit | |
| Monkshood
(1853: A handsome but poisonous plant, with dark blue blossoms, from Europe. 1885: Helmet Flower) |
Deceit | A deadly foe is near. | Treachery; A foe is near. | Chivalry. Knight-errantry. | A deadly foe is near |
| Moonwort | Forgetfulness | Forgetfulness | Forgetfulness | ||
| Morning Glory | Coquetry | Coquetry; Affection. | Affectation | Affectation, vain glory | |
| Moschatel | Weakness | Weakness | |||
| Moss
(1853: Delicate and very humble plants, found almost everywhere; the most beautiful growing in shady woods.) |
Maternal love | Maternal love | Maternal love. | Maternal love | |
| Mosses | Ennui | ||||
| Mossy Saxifrage | Affection | ||||
| Moss Rose
(1853: A most beautiful variety of rose, with a glandular calyx, as if covered with moss.---South of Europe) |
Voluptious love | ||||
| Motherwort | Secret love | Concealed love | Concealed love | ||
| Mountain Ash | I watch over you. | Prudence | |||
| Mourning Bride (Scabious) | Unfortunate attachment | I have lost all. | Unfortunate attachment. I have lost all. | I have lost all | |
| Mouse ear
(1853: One of the earliest spring plants of New England; found in sunny pastures.) |
Forget me not. | ||||
| Mouse-ear Chickweed | Simplicity | Ingenuous simplicity. | |||
| Mouse-eared Scorpion Grass | Forget me not. | ||||
| Moving Plant | Agitation | ||||
| Mudwort | Tranquility | ||||
| Mugwort | Good luck; Happiness. | Happiness | Happiness | ||
| Mulberry, Black | I will not survive you. | I shall not survive you | I shall not survive you. | ||
| Mulberry, White | Wisdom | Wisdom | Wisdom | Wisdom | |
| Mullein/Mullen | Good nature | Good nature | Good nature | ||
| Mushroom | Suspicion | Suspicion | Suspicion | Suspicion | |
| Mush Plant | Weakness | ||||
| Musk Plant | Weakness | Weakness | |||
| Mustard Seed | Indifference | Indifference | |||
| Myosotis
(OED: mouse-ear) |
Forget me not. | ||||
| Myrobalan | Privation | ||||
| Myroballon | Bereavement | ||||
| Myrrh | Gladness | Gladness | Gladness, myrth [sic] | ||
| Myrtle
(1853: Favorite shrubs of parlor cultivation, with large white blossoms. ---South of Europe) |
Love in absence. | Love | Love in Absence. | Love | Love in absence |
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