There are many nations that have plants as part of their iconography but I am featuring three European countries whose national identity is defined by a plant. France–the fleur-de-lys, Scotland–the thistle and Ireland–the shamrock.

There is a legend in which Clovis I, of France 509-511, on his way to meet the king of Aquitania at Vouille near Poitiers (507) in the west of France, was searching for a place  for his army to ford a river. A doe, startled by soldiers, jumped across the river at a place only it knew. Clovis and his army followed. On the banks of the river an abundance of wild yellow irises grew. After crossing safely, Clovis got down off his horse, picked one of the iris plants and put it on his helmet as a symbol of his future victory. Thereafter the kings of France used the fleur de lis as their emblem.

The next story takes place in Scotland during the time of Viking invasions and raids. The Scots were camped overnight expecting an attack the next day. The Vikings arrived early and decided not to wait until daybreak. They attacked in the dark of night. The story goes that as the Vikings were making their way to the Scots’s camp one of the Vikings stepped on a sharp, spiny thistle plant and cried out. The cry alerted the Scots and allowed them to fend off the Vikings. From that time Scotland has honored the thistle as an national symbol.

Our third story, is about the shamrock and Ireland. According to legend St. Patrick used the three leaves of the shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity to the High Kings of Ireland. His explanation was so effective that the High Kings turned away from paganism and became Christians. However, it seems there isn’t a “true” species of shamrock, Trifolium dubium or lesser clover is considered to be the shamrock by roughly half of Irish people, Trifolium repens (white clover) by another third and the remainder split between Trifolium pratense, Medicago lupulina, Oxalis acetosella or wood sorrel, and various other species of Trifolium and Oxalis. None of these species are unique to Ireland, they are all common in Europe. There is no unique species of shamrock plants that grows only in Ireland.