Wallflower the Plant

As we all know, the meaning of words often change over time.

This process--called 'semantic shift' by linguists--

is responsible for the change in meaning of the word "wallflower."

For centuries, the name referred to a fragrant flower

that, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, 

grew wild on walls, stones, and quarries.

Photo credit: Rosier via commons.wikimedia.org

The old-fashioned wallflower, cheiranthus cheiri, 

was said to smell like violets

and bloomed in colors that included deep yellow, orange, and brown.

Photo Credit: Lazaregagnidze via commons.wikimedia.org

The 1936 publication Old-Fashioned Garden Flowers,

had this to say about the color of wallflower:

Its petals are either a rich sunset yellow veined with brown,

or a soft glowing Rembrandt brown, darker veined.

A happy brown is a rare shade in gardens 

and was rightly prized by our grandmothers.

A beautiful old-fashioned flower colored "happy brown"--

that's an unexpected pleasure.

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