There are over 400,000 different types of flowers in the world, and although not all of them are suitable to be sent as gifts to your loved ones, there is still quite a number of them for you to choose from. However, if you're not really the "flowers" sort, you might be stumped as to which types of flowers to buy. This is where we'll be able to help!

Here are "meanings" for some of the most common flower gifts and depending on what you're trying to express, you might want to refer to this guide when buying flowers for your loved ones!

Roses

As proven time and time again during seasons of love, such as Valentine’s Day, Roses are often used to indicate love and romance. Different number of roses you give also has certain meanings. For instance, one rose usually means “love at first sight” while three roses mean “I love you”. For those of you who are looking to propose to your loved one, you might want to get a bouquet with 108 roses because that conveys the meaning “Will you marry me?”.

Fun fact: Roses are also associated with confidentiality and secrecy during the Roman and middle ages, but not so much now. This flower has some cultural significance as well since it’s the emblem of the houses of York (red rose) and Lancaster (white rose) during the War of the Roses between 1455 and 1487.

Carnations

Carnations are one of the most loved flowers in the world. They are usually available in a range of colors and are often associated with these meanings: love (usually motherly love), fascination, and distinction.

Carnations are the go-to flowers for first anniversaries to indicate love and commitment. However, in certain countries, carnations may carry a different meaning. For instance, in France, purple carnations are usually used as funeral flowers, so you’d want to avoid giving a French lady you fancy some purple carnations.

Fun fact: The national flower of both Spain and Slovenia is the carnation!

Sunflowers

Unlike the other flowers in this article, Sunflowers is the only flower that has such a varied range of meanings depending on culture… so much so that it’s very difficult to pin down a few. For example, in China, sunflowers are linked to a long life, good fortune and vitality due to its vibrant “golden” appearance, while to Native Americans, sunflowers are regarded as symbols of bountiful harvest since they used to use the flower as sources of food and medicine.

That being said, this species of flowers usually means adoration and loyalty, thanks to the Greek myth of Clytie and Apollo.

Fun fact: The sunflower is the flower with the largest number of species in the world. Currently, there are over 24,000 species of sunflowers.

Orchids

Since the time of the Greeks, Orchids have always been linked to fertility, sexuality and virility. It is also associated with elegance and possibly luxury (especially during the Victorian age) due to their rather exotic appearance. This is particularly true of purple orchids as they are often used to symbolize royalty.

In China, yellow orchids have the added meanings of integrity and friendship. Even Confucius, a renowned philosopher of ancient China, has always compared noble scholars of his time with the flower. In this day and age, there are people in China who eat the bulbs of orchids to increase their libido and to address fertility issues.

Fun fact: Orchids is the flower with the second largest number of species in the world. Currently, there are over 20,000 species of Orchids, and via hybridization and crossbreeding, there will possibly be even more species in the future.