Stokesia, a birthday flower of July 4th

Stokesia is one of the birthday flowers of July 4th annually. It is also the birthday flower of May 4th. Stokesia is also known as Stokes' Aster and in Japanese is called Sutokeshia ストケシア. They typically bloom from June to September, as they thrive in warm weather. The photo in this post was taken in June.

Stokesia flowers come in shades of soft lavender, blue, pink or white. They are large, fluffy, thistle-like flowers. They stand out beautifully against green leaves and foliage. In Japan, I tend to see it most in community gardens rather than large displays in parks. Apparently, they came to Japan during the Taisho era.

Reportedly, the name of the flower comes from British physician and naturalist Jonathan Stokes. In the Japanese language of flowers, 'hanakotoba', Stokesia represent "recollection" and "a pure modest girl".