Yellow Hyacinth

Yellow Hyacinth

Uncover Hidden Flowers meanings

The yellow hyacinth has only one meaning and that’s jealousy. 

The basis of this meaning is the Greek myth about Hyakinthos.  In a time when the gods interacted with mortals, Apollo, the sun god and Zephyr, the west wind loved the same handsome boy, Hykinthos.  This mortal was closer to the god Apollo and Zephyr resented this.

So one day when the two were at a game of discus, Zephyr made the winds blow strongly.  It was at the same time that Apollo threw his discus.  This was picked up by the strong wind and it blew back, hitting Hyakinthos on the head.  Blood gushed out from the wound and Hyakinthos was dead.

  • Name: Yellow Hyacinth
  • Color: Yellow hyacinths have a wide spectrum of hues.  It’s not only sunny yellow and bright yellow but also lighter versions of the shade like cream and pastel yellow.
  • Shape: The yellow hyacinth as a whole looks like a corn on a green cob.  It can even look like the brush you use to scrub your back when you’re bathing.  However, it looks very different when you come closer - as you’ll have a clearer view of the star shaped flowers that are clustered up together.
  • Fact: The corn on a cob shape applies to single hyacinths.  For this variety of hyacinth, the heads are well defined and if you don’t look close enough, you might not even realize that the yellow hyacinth is just a cluster of yellow flowers.
  • Poisonous: Hyacinths are on the list of poisonous and toxic plants.
  • Number of Petals: In one cluster of yellow hyacinth, the number of petals varies tremendously and can even be quite a challenge to manually count it.  But taking out a single flower from the cluster, the flower has six upturned petals.
  • Victorian Interpretation: Based on the Victorian interpretation of flowers, yellow flowers like the yellow hyacinth has negative meanings.  And for yellow hyacinth, it signifies jealousy.
  • Blossom Time: The best time for yellow hyacinths to bloom is in spring.  From the months of March to April, these blossoms are at their peak.
  • Superstitions:  For people in the olden times who had trouble sleeping, the yellow hyacinth was seen as a cure or a remedy. The scent of yellow hyacinths is believed to induce sleep.
  • What the Yellow Hyacinth Means: 
  • There are two different variations to the end of this myth.  One ended with a hyacinth flower growing from the blood of Hyakinthos and the other ending is that it was Apollo’s doing why the hyacinth suddenly came to be.  He couldn’t bear the thought of Hades taking Hyakinthos and so he turned him into a flower.
  • Basically, it’s just because of Zephyr’s jealousy that Apollo was dearer to Hyakinthos.  That’s why the yellow hyacinth signifies jealousy.
  • The Shape:  The yellow hyacinth can easily be mistaken for a corn.  It’s not just because of the color but also the ovoid shape.  Instead of kernels, however, this is made up of star shaped blossoms.
  • Petals:  The petals of the yellow hyacinth are elongated and narrow.  Upturned on the tips, they give the flowers their star shape appearance.
  • Numerology:  The yellow hyacinth has a reflection of a good mind in numerology because it’s a number 7.  It’s characterized by thought, introspection and analysis to find the truth.
  • Color:  Although a very cheerful color, yellow is mostly associated with negative meanings when it comes to flowers.  Whatever the shade of yellow the hyacinth has, it means jealousy.

Herbalism and Medicine:  

No matter what the meaning of the yellow hyacinth is, it has a wide range of medicinal uses.  Particularly in countries like China, they use the hyacinth as herbs that take effect on the body as an antibacterial to kill germs, anti inflammatory agents to reduce inflammation, styptic agents to stop bleeding, and even vulnerary agents to heal wounds.

By Flo Saul
Aug 20, 2012