SAY IT WITH FLOWERS

Nia S. Amira
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This phrase is often said in the movie or TV drama. Al­though Ramadan has just come, is not a mistake if we start from now, thinking of decorat­ing the house when the feast of Eid Ul Fitri arrives. For those who have more funds to buy beautiful flowers of course there will be no problem to have it, but for those who do not have special budget for buying this beautiful things, they can still use the flowers that grow in the garden such as Bougenville, White Amary­lis, or Dahlia. Everything is flower and will beautify our living or dining room and when the guests arrive, they will be happy to see the marvel­ous arranged in nice vase.

ROSES symbolize love and affec­tion and become a women’s favorite flowers. But do you know where it came from this ornamental flower with thorny stem? Roses are also known as the queen of flowers and it a symbol of religious life in human civilization. Roses come from China, Middle East and Eastern Europe. In its development, this beautiful flower is widespread in sub-tropical and tropical regions. There are more than 100 species of wild roses and mostly grown in the cool northern part of earth.

In addition to admiring the beau­ty of form and color of roses, there is no harm if we know the meaning of some roses by color. Red roses that we usually get from a close friend or lover, symbolizes love, beauty, harmony, re­spect and courage . Like blood, red flower has be­come a symbol of true love. Red roses is the most popular when compared to other col­ors. For one stem red rose is defined as Love at the First Sight. Meanwhile, a series of r e d roses is an expression of a Real Love.

White rose is as a symbol of pu­rity, fidelity, secret love, innocence and at once the grandeur of love, tenderness and comfort. When a woman’s heart is filled with anger or resentment toward her lover, white roses can be a consolation, because white symbolizes purity, peace, tranquility as well as the sen­sitivity of the heart, so that the wom­an’s heart can be easily touched.

Pink rose is the preferred flower for women, because the color is of­ten symbolized for beauty, affection, happiness, appreciation, and admi­ration. The color is very soft and be­comes the character of this adorable and tempting flower.

ORCHID is part of “Orchidaceae” family. “Orchid” in Greek names as orchis which means testicles. An­ciently, orchids synonymous with man, good color, shape and even its structure. Orchids also symbolizes fertility and virility. Previously it was thought if one consumes young or­chid, then can have a baby boy and if taking the old orchid will give birth to a baby girl but in this myth does not mention the meaning of this con­sumption which is eaten as food or just enjoy the beauty of the flowers.

Indonesia is famous all over the world with a fortune of orchid flow­ers. More than 4000 species of or­chids scattered in almost every ma­jor island in the archipelago. The most famous orchid in Indonesia is Phalaenopsis Amabilis which was appointed as “National Flower” and having a nickname as “Charming Flower” and the other one is “Bag Orchid” or Phapiopedium javani­cum.

DAHLIA is originally from Mexi­co. Dahlia belongs to the Asteraceae family and has 30 species spread throughout the world. Dahlia bloom during the summer until autumn and belongs to the shrubs having the bulbous with annual nature. Named as Dahlia due to honor the Swedish botanist, Anders Dahl since the 18th century. In addition to ornamental plants, Dahlia is also very good for health and food supplies. Dahlia tu­bers contain 3.8% inulin. Inulin in dahlia tubers introduced by Lukman Hakim, the head of LIPI on the 159th Anniversary of Cibodas Botanical Gardens, 11 April 2011.

The function of inulin is to lower high blood pr e s ­sure and to prevent excess choles­terol. Additionally useful as a pre­biotic that is useful as a substrate microflora which is very beneficial for our colon. Dahlia can be used as instant milk for children or adults to seniors. Inulin contained in instant milk is useful to increase the absorp­tion of calcium by the body to sup­port the growth of bones and teeth of children and to prevent bone loss in adults and the elderly. In addition to be instant milk, inulin also can be used as a substitute for sugar and fat in food products low in calories and also as a raw material for fructose syrup.

BOUGENVILLE or Bougainvillea by its scientific name is a plant that is popular as an ornamental plant, because its beauty colors that are striking and varied. Plants of South American origin was taken from the name of the French Navy soldier, Sir Louis Antoine Bougainville. This paper flower other than as an orna­mental plant, it contains polyphe­nols and saponins in its stems, leaves and flowers that are useful as a drug when having irregular period or late period, pain and severe bleeding during period, a s well as to treat white blood and as a refresh­ing for our body.