Flower of the year

In 1979 Loki Schmidt , the wife of the then German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt , founded the Foundation for the Protection of Endangered Plants , which was renamed the Foundation for Nature Conservation Hamburg and Foundation for the Protection of Endangered Plants in 1985 . One of the primary purposes of this organization is to vote for Flower of the Year , a public awareness campaign that was launched in 1980. This campaign is intended to provide information about the ecological value of wildflowers and their habitats and to contribute to better protection of the selected species. The proclamation for flower of the year is usually in October; At the Flower of the Year 2012, the anniversary of the death of the foundation's founder Schmidt, who died in 2010, on October 21, was chosen for the proclamation. In 2003 Schmidt published a book entitled "The Flowers of the Year", for which Siegfried Lenz wrote the foreword.

history

In the 1970s, the issue of environmental protection received little attention in media and politics. Numerous wild plants were endangered at this time and in some cases even threatened with extinction. Intensive agriculture and monocultures in particular pose a threat to wildflowers, but the use of open spaces as building land also contributes to the extinction of wildflowers. On this occasion, Loki Schmidt founded the Foundation for the Welfare of Endangered Plants , which in 1980 awarded the lung gentian the title “Flower of the Year” for the first time. Since then, this title has been awarded every year. Wild plants are selected, the existence of which is endangered in our latitudes; the public should be made aware of the issue of wild plant protection so that the rare plants do not disappear completely from the natural landscape. The natural habitat of the plants should also be brought into public awareness: In 2011, for example, attention was focused on the moor, the habitat of the flower of the year at that time, the moor lily.

Flowers of the year in Germany

year	German name	scientific name
1980	Lung gentian	Gentiana pneumonanthe
1981	Yellow daffodil	Narcissus pseudonarcissus
1982	Red forest bird	Cephalanthera rubra
1983	Wild tulip	Tulipa sylvestris
1984	Summer Adonis	Adonis aestivalis
1985	Wood Columbine	Aquilegia vulgaris
1986	arnica	Arnica montana
1987	Sea thistle	Eryngium maritimum
1988	Swamp calla, dragon arum	Calla palustris
1989	Carthusian carnation	Dianthus carthusianorum
1990	Mountain sand bells	Jasione montana
1991	Rosemary heather	Andromeda polifolia
1992	Round-leaved sundew	Drosera rotundifolia
1993	Checkerboard flower	Fritillaria meleagris
1994	Broad-leaved orchid	Dactylorhiza majalis
1995	Globe flower	Trollius europaeus
1996	Real Pasque Flower, Pasque Flower	Pulsatilla vulgaris
1997	Silver thistle	Carlina acaulis
1998	Crab claws, water aloe	Stratiotes aloides
1999	Marsh marigold	Caltha palustris
2000	Purple stone seed	Lithospermum purpurocaeruleum
2001	Blood-red cranesbill	Geranium sanguineum
2002	Wood violet	Viola riviniana
2003	Corn wheel	Agrostemma pallida
2004	Alpine bells	Soldanella alpina
2005	Big rattle pot	Rhinanthus angustifolius
2006	Meadowfoam	Cardamine pratensis
2007	Brook avens	Geum rival
2008	Nodding thistle	Carduus nutans
2009	Common chicory	Cichorium intybus
2010	Siberian iris	Iris sibirica
2011	Bog lily	Narthecium ossifragum
2012	Heather carnation	Dianthus deltoides
2013	Hepatica	Hepatica nobilis

Flowers of the year in Germany and Austria

year	German name	scientific name
2014	Swan flower	Butomus umbellatus
2015	Ordinary devil bite	Succisa pratensis
2016	Real cowslip	Primula veris
2017	Corn poppy	Papaver rhoeas
2018	Long-leaved speedwell	Veronica longifolia ( V. maritima )
2019	Common heather	Calluna vulgaris
2020	Fever clover	Menyanthes trifoliata