Snapdragon

Snapdragon flower or Antirrhinum belongs to a

wide family with over 40 different flower species.
This flower grows all around North America,
Europe and North Africa. Even though it can grow
in several ground types, it is best known for growing
out of rocky grounds and places. It was particularly
interesting to people because the head of the flower (part with petals), looked like a dragon when
you squeezed it.

Flower symbolism is often underestimated, even though we all think before we buy a certain
flower sort for someone. We carefully choose the color of the flower, its shape and symbolic
meaning.

Back in time when people didn’t have many opportunities to entertain themselves, they would
find entertainment in nature. Snapdragon belonged to one of the more interesting flowers,
because of its ability to grow on rocks and stones and because its flower looked similar to a
dragon.

Flowers were our helping hands in times when we needed to express our emotions and feelings.
There was no need to speak all you had to do is to gift someone their favorite flower. It is pretty
much the same today, except we know a lot more about the flowers we give and their symbolic
meanings. We carefully choose the ones that are going to make the person feel special and loved.

Meaning of the Snapdragon flower

Flower meaning helps us to determine which flower sort to gift to someone. There is a big
difference between gifting a white rose and the red one. The person for whom you are choosing a
flower needs to feel the message you are sending.

If you are in love with this person, then you need to choose flowers that are going to express that,
because this person is certainly going to find a deeper meaning behind your gift. Snapdragon
flower has several important meanings that you need to pay attention to when gifting a
Snapdragon flower.

These symbolic meanings are:

 Grace
 Strength
 Deviousness

Grace – Snapdragon flower is a symbol of grace and virtue. This flower stands tall and straight
up to the sky. It almost reminds us of a person who is proud and won’t let anyone tell her what to
do. Snapdragon flowers can be gifted to people you appreciate and love. They are going to send
them a clear message, and that is the message of respect and admiration. No matter to which you
are gifting this flower, you can be certain that no person will get offended or confused by your
message. You can confidently gift this flower to your partner, mother or even a co-worker,
without being afraid of sending the wrong message. This flower is only going to pass on to them
a message of respect, admiration and grace.

Strength – Snapdragon has often been used as a symbol of strength. This flower grows on rocks
and stones, in places that are not particularly suitable and fruitful. Because of this, it was often
used as a symbol of strength and fighting against of all odds. People would often associate
Snapdragon’s ability to grow on difficult places with person’s ability to overcome problems and
issues in life. You can gift this flower to anyone you love and find to be a strong and resilient
person. This is a gorgeous flower with a very strong message, so you can be sure that the
recipient is going to receive a clear message from you.

Deviousness – Snapdragon flower also symbolizes deviousness. In ancient times, Snapdragon

flowers were sent between lovers as a symbol of love and lust. Those who were married as well
would send these flowers to their mistresses and lovers, in order to tell them they are still
important for them. This flower was also used as a tool to say that you are sorry, especially in
Victorian times. Since it had a truth-telling capability, it was often used as the flower that
begged for forgiveness.

Snapdragon – Etymological meaning

The Latin name for the Snapdragon flower, Antirrhinum, comes from the Latin words “anti”
which means similarity and the “rhis” which in translation means nose. They often associated the
unusual Snapdragon flower to a monkey face, because the petals are shaped in a way which
resembles a face of a monkey. The Snapdragon flower has the adjective “majus” or large,
because of its ability to grow in great heights.

The name “Snapdragon” came from the shape of the flower which resembled a dragon’s face.
When you squeeze the flower the petals form a shape that is very similar to a dragon’s face.
Because of this, people started calling this unusual flower Snapdragon flower. In other cultures,
people use names such as “grand muflier”, “Grosse Lowenmaul”, “Garten Lowenmaul”, “boca
de dragon” and “žabji gobec”.

Snapdragon – Symbolism

The Snapdragon flower symbolism is very interesting. Ancient cultures were mesmerized by its
unusual appearance and ability to grow out of rocky places. The most unusual symbolism of this
flower is linked to its grace and femininity. People considered this flower to be a symbol of
female strength and grace, because of the way it grew out of rocky places and stood against
difficult living conditions. Women didn’t have much power in those times, so giving a woman
this flower meant you highly respected this woman and loved her.
Another symbolism linked to the Snapdragon flower is the symbolism of importance and power.
People who used to own a Snapdragon flower or concealed it, were considered fascinating and
highly respectful. This peculiar flower demanded respect and admiration from every person and
it was widely known that owning this flower had a specifically strong symbolism.

The Snapdragon flower was also used by women to express their desire not to be disturbed by
other men and to send a message to other men that she was taken. They used to weave their hair
with this flower and decorate their heads with it to send this strong message. Because of this, the
Snapdragon flower was a symbol of deception and denial to many cultures.

Many also believed that the Snapdragon flower had the ability to scare away evil. It was believed
that this flower had the ability to protect people from a curse, bad luck or any other evil. In
Germany, the Snapdragon flower was hanged above a baby’s crib to protect the baby from bad
luck and negativity. This only show how important the symbolism of this flower is and how
people looked at it. To many it was a symbol of energy and powerful strength.

The Snapdragon flower was also a symbol of presumption. Since women used to wear it in their
hair to send a message to other men that they are not interested, many linked this symbolic
meaning to the Snapdragon flower. Another example of this symbolic meaning is the fact that
this flower was sent to another person, when you wanted to tell this person that he or she is
attractive but also deceptive and a little bit dangerous.

Even though there are some negative symbolic meanings linked to the Snapdragon flower, it is
still often used in bridal bouquets as a symbol of grace and strength. In those cases, people only
look at the positive side of this flower and ignore the negative.

Snapdragon – Color meaning

Snapdragon flower comes in several colors. Each color has its own symbolic meaning and before
you gift this flower to someone you care about, take a closer look at the symbolic meaning
behind a certain color.

The Snapdragon flower can also have color variations and not just one solid color. In those cases,
you can gift or plant this flower without being too worried about the message it is hiding.

Purple

 The purple Snapdragon flower is a symbol of spirituality and royalty. You can gift this flower to
anyone you love and care about, since this symbolic meaning doesn’t affect your intention to
surprise someone. Color purple in general is a symbol of royalty, class, nobility, spirituality and
higher positions. Therefore, there is no reason not to share this flower color to anyone you
consider worthy of it.

Red
  Color red is a symbol of passion, love and romance. This flower can also be a symbol of energy
and power, so you can gift this flower to someone you love and feel passionate about. No
matter if this person is not your partner, you can express deep emotions that aren’t romantic to
someone you really care about. color red sends a very straight forward and powerful message to
anyone, so there is no mistake with sending this color if strong effect is what you are looking for.

Yellow

 Color yellow is a symbol of happiness, positive energy, good luck and optimism. You can gift the
yellow Snapdragon flower to anyone you love and care about. This color sends a positive
message to a person who is dear to your heart that you want to see happiness and joy in her
life.

White

 White Snapdragon flower is a symbol of purity, grace, spirituality, good magic and innocence.
This flower color can be gifted to someone you like and find to be worthy of such adjectives.
Color white is always a good choice if you want to surprise someone but you don’t want to send
any kind of strong message or message that alludes on anything in particular.

Orange

 Color orange is a symbol of positive energy and passion. An orange Snapdragon flower can be
gifted to anyone, especially if you want to make this person feel good and if you want to bring
some positive energy into this person’s life.