If you’re a cemetery buff, you may have seen them carved on gravestones. But an even more interesting part of the Crown Imperial tulip is that the flower actually “weeps,” making it a fitting cemetery symbol of loss. Known as the “Weeping Bride,” the “crying” occurs when the clear nectar, produced inside the flower, drops out of the hanging heads.
In Islamic and Christian religions, the flower represents mourning or grief, symbolizing separation, melancholy, and a release of the past. In funerary art, an upside-down tulip, or any upside-down flower, indicates the loss of someone in the prime of life, an unmarried woman, or eternal new beginnings.
While beautiful to behold, the aroma leaves something to be desired. It has been described as smelling musky, fox-like, or skunky, but it keeps mice, moles, and other small critters away.
So the next time you’re visiting a cemetery, keep an eye out for those “weeping” flowers with heads bent, indicating a life suddenly lost too soon.
Joy
