Stock, a birthday flower of July 16th

Stock (Matthiola incana) is one of several birthday flowers of July 16th annually. It is also the birthday flower of January 10th, February 9th and March 2nd. In addition, pink stock is a birthday flower for February 8th, purple stock for February 20th and white stock for March 7th.

Stock is not currently in bloom in Japan. It is mainly a spring flower. It typically blooms from March to May with individual stock flowers lasting about five to ten days. However, the photo in this post was taken early in January. Stock arrived in Japan during the Edo period and was given the name "sutokku" in Japanese: the katakana version of the English.

In the Japanese language of flowers, hanakotoba, its meanings include "courtship", "bonds of affection" and "eternal beauty." The latter two are also two of the meanings in English flower language. Other meanings in English floriography include "contentment" and "promptness". Thanks to its fragrance, durability and gentle colors, Stock is quite popular and you can often see it in Japan.