SMS Notes: Chiang Mai Flower Festivals

Tulips everywhere!

November to February: This is the ideal time to visit Chiang Mai because the weather is perfect for all kinds of outdoor activities. While it does not get too cold, you should carry a jacket and some light woolens. January is usually considered the best month and sees a high influx of tourists.

It goes from Nawarat Bridge at 8am., passes through Tha Pae Road and ends at Nong Buak Haad Public Park. All the flower floats will be decorated as charming as wonderlands where traditional Lanna costumes become the highlight of the festival that can only be seen in Chiang Mai, the Rose of the North.

The National flower of Thailand is an orchid aka Ratchaphruek in our native language. Even though this orchid is locally known as ratchaphruek, it is also called dok koon. This flower was chosen by the country in 2001 because of its yellow colour which associated with Buddhism, the main religion of the country.

Lilium is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. They are the true lilies. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world.

Tulips (Tulipa) are a genus of spring-blooming perennial herbaceous bulbiferous geophytes (having bulbs as storage organs). The flowers are usually large, showy and brightly coloured, generally red, pink, yellow, or white (usually in warm colours).

Scientific name: Tulipa species. Family: Liliaceae (Lily) Common name: Tulip species.

The tulip is a member of the lily family, Liliaceae, along with 14 other genera, where it is most closely related to Amana, Erythronium and Gagea in the tribe Lilieae.

Liliopsida Batsch is a botanical name for the class containing the family Liliaceae. It is considered synonymous with the name monocotyledon. Publication of the name is credited to Scopoli: see author citation. This name is formed by replacing the termination -aceae in the name Liliaceae by the termination -opsida.

Originally from Persia and Turkey, tulips were brought to Europe in the 16th century, where they got their common name from the Turkish word for gauze (with which turbans were wrapped) - reflecting the turban-like appearance of a tulip in full bloom.