Anzac Day is a time to acknowledge the sacrifice of service people, and there are a number of ways to commemorate the occasion. From activities like the dawn service and baking Anzac biscuits, to recognisable symbols like sprigs of rosemary and poppies.
Many flowers have long been worn as pins or displayed as wreaths to honour the troops, but what is the meaning behind these flowers and emblematic plants?
Here are five common Anzac flowers and their significance explained.
1. Rosemary
Rosemary grows wild on the peninsula of Galipoli, so has a special significance for Australians and New Zealanders. The plant is a herb that was, in ancient times, said to improve memory and Greek scholars wore rosemary in their hair to help remember their studies. The association with memory has endured over time and as a result, people now wear it as a symbol of remembrance on Anzac Day.
2. Flanders poppy
The flanders poppy is known to have grown in the trenches and on the battlefields of Europe as it blooms during springtime. Poppies grow best in disturbed soil, so the artillery shells and shrapnel stirred up the soil enough for poppies to bloom in abundance during the war.
Eventually, poppies made their way to Australian shores from France in 1921, where war widows sold them to raise funds for those left incapacitated from the war. Now the bright red bloom is best associated with Remembrance Day in November, where people wear them as an emblem, however wreaths of poppies are also commonplace on Anzac Day.
3. Anzac rose (Rosa Hybrida ‘Kortutu’)
Chosen to commemorate the Gallipoli Centenary in 2015, this deep velvet red bloom, known as the Anzac Rose or Gallipoli Centenary Rose, is enduring, unfading, and has a long flowering period.
Bred by Kordes of Germany, this flower blooms in clusters and has won awards for being hardy and disease resistant.
4. Gallipoli rose (Cistus Salviiflorus)
The Gallipoli rose, also known as rockrose, is grown from seeds and is a low-growing shrub that blooms with single white flowers. Brought back by returning soldiers after World War One, this flower is now propagated by The Heritage Yarralumla Nursery in Canberra and made available for those who wish to make commemorative plantings.
5. Lone Pine (Pinus Halepensis)
In 1915 before ANZAC troops landed in Gallipoli Cove, Turkish soldiers had cleared the land of Aleppo pine to create trenches, and left only one pine standing. This area came to be known as Lone Pine Ridge.
After the battle, an Australian soldier who had fought and lost his brother in it, found a cone and sent it home to his mother. She presented a seed to be planted in the War Memorial grounds in honour of her own and others’ sons who fell at Lone Pine. Seed from this tree is also propagated by Yarralumla Nursery.
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