Random Flower Generator

The Random Flower Generator shows you one flower at a time: a photo, the flower's name, and a second line giving either another name it goes by or the plant family it belongs to. It draws from 284 flowers, from Aconitum to Zinnia, and is the tool to use when you want a random flower with a picture rather than just a word.

How it works

There is a single button and no settings. Each press picks one flower from the full list and replaces the one on screen. It is possible, though unlikely, to get the same flower twice in a row, since every press is an independent draw from all 284. If you want several at once or a wider set that includes trees, vegetables and houseplants, the Random Plant Generator draws up to ten from a list of 1,414.

What the card shows

Three things: a photograph, the name, and an "also known as" line. The name is sometimes a common name (African Daisy, Sweet Pea, Painted Daisy, Whirling Butterflies) and sometimes the botanical genus or species (Ageratum houstonianum, Ipheion uniflorum, Viola wittrockiana, Zinnia elegans). The second line is a mixed bag on purpose: for Anemone it gives the common name Windflower, for Alchemilla it gives Lady's Mantle, for Alstroemeria it gives Peruvian Lily, and for Aconitum or Zinnia it gives the family instead (Ranunculus Family, Aster Family; other entries name the Iris, Nightshade, Amaryllis or Carnation family). Three flowers have no second line at all. There are no growing instructions, bloom seasons or color notes.

What kinds of flowers are in the list

The 284 entries are mostly garden flowers of temperate climates, with a few wildflowers and tropical houseplants. Sampling the alphabet:

• Cottage-garden staples: Sweet Pea, Dianthus, Nicotiana, Linaria, Clarkia, Scented Geranium, Alyssum.
• Bulbs and corms: Agapanthus, Allium roseum, Crocosmia, Ipheion uniflorum, Alstroemeria.
• Shrubs and tropicals: Hibiscus, Gardenia, Kalmia, Anthurium, Begonia, Xylobium (an orchid).
• Wildflowers and woodland plants: Pink Lady's Slipper, Queen's Cup, Meconopsis (the Himalayan blue poppy), Trollius, Aconitum.
• Daisy-family flowers: African Daisy, Painted Daisy, Ageratum, Zinnia.

Common names, genus names and families

Knowing which kind of name you are looking at helps when you go to buy seed or look a flower up. A common name is the everyday English label and can point to several unrelated plants: "African Daisy" is used for Gazania, Osteospermum and Arctotis, which is why the card for it lists Gazania as the alternate. A genus name such as Anemone, Begonia or Hibiscus is the first half of the Latin binomial and covers every species in that group; many gardeners use these as common names. A full species name, like Viola wittrockiana (the garden pansy) or Zinnia elegans, is the precise two-word Latin name. The family is one level up: the Aster family (Asteraceae) holds daisies, zinnias and sunflowers; the Ranunculus family (Ranunculaceae) holds buttercups, anemones, aconitum and trollius. When the second line on a card gives a family, that is what it is telling you.

Ways people use it

• Drawing and painting subjects. A flower randomizer with photos gives you a real reference to work from rather than an idea to imagine.
• Identification practice. Cover the name, guess from the photo, then check. The family line is a hint if the common name escapes you.
• Choosing a flower to grow or give. Generate a few and look up the ones that suit your zone or the occasion.
• Names and world-building. Flower names make good character, shop and place names. Pair one with a random gem or a random biome for a setting.

More nature pickers, from animals to reptiles, are listed under all animal & nature generators.