The Flower Language and Legend of Daphne

The Flower Language of Daphne

The flower language of Daphne osmanthus is auspiciousness and luck.

The legend of Daphne

Legend has it that Li Shizhen went to Mount Lushan to collect herbs in order to write Compendium of Materia Medica and stayed at Donglin Temple.

One day he saw a young monk with a swollen right cheek and excruciating toothache muttering sutras. An old monk nearby gave him a herb and asked him to put it in his mouth. Immediately the swelling and pain disappeared. Li Shizhen was very surprised, so he hurriedly asked the old monk for advice, and learned that this magical herb grew in Jinxiu Valley. However, Li Shizhen searched for it in Jinxiu Valley for three days and three nights but did not see any trace of it. On the third night, Li Shizhen, exhausted, was taking a nap with his eyes closed. His consciousness gradually became blurred when suddenly a strong fragrance wafted into his nose. Two colorful butterflies fluttered around him and called softly, "Doctor Li, my eldest sister wants to see you." Li Shizhen looked closely and saw that the two butterflies transformed into two cute and lively little girls wearing butterfly skirts. They carried Li Shizhen into the distance. He saw a beautiful fairy standing on a dangerous cliff above the clouds, waving at him. Li Shizhen was surprised and delighted, and hurried forward to ask the fairy about the whereabouts of the magic herb. The fairy smiled at him, her figure flickered, a golden light flashed, and she turned into a beautiful and dazzling flower. Li Shizhen hurried forward to pick the flower, but his foot slipped and he fell headfirst into a deep ravine. Li Shizhen shouted and woke up from his dream, covered in cold sweat. He saw beautiful flowers blooming in the crevices of the cliff beside him, bathed in the moonlight.

Therefore, Li Shizhen named this flower "Sleeping Fragrance". Later, as the fame of sleeping fragrance spread more and more widely, people vied to introduce it and regarded it as a sign of good fortune, so they changed its name to "Rhododendron odoriferum".