To ensure the graves were left alone, people planted the poisonous red spider lilies over buried bodies to deter animals. Graves and death were soon associated with the red spider lily, earning it the name of 'death flower' and the even darker, 'corpse flower'.
Spider lilies are associated with death since they were planted near the graves of people, and some consider it to be linked to bad luck, disaster, the afterlife, and hell. However, this plant is poisonous according to some cultures.
Mock Joya relates their association with Japanese Christian martyrs in medieval times; their places of martyrdom were said to be marked by these flowers. Because red spider lilies are associated with death, it is believed that one should never give a bouquet of these flowers.
But lilies can also represent grief and mourning; they're one of the most popular flowers at funerals in the United States, and are often sent as sympathy flowers. According to some interpretations, lilies symbolize death because they represent the moment when the soul departs the body.
Due to its odor, like that of a rotting corpse, the titan arum is characterized as a carrion flower, and is also known as the corpse flower or corpse plant (Indonesian: bunga bangkai—bunga means flower, while bangkai can be translated as corpse, cadaver, or carrion).
Don't touch: Red spider lily bulbs are poisonous if eaten, and touching the stems or petals can cause a rash. Don't let it put you off bringing kids, though—it's a great chance to teach children not to touch.
Costus longibracteatus 'Kiss of Death'
For this reason, white lilies are often used at occasions marking the end of our earthly existence. Their pure sense of serenity makes lilies – especially white ones that are also symbolic of peace – the flowers of choice for funerals.
The stargazer lily is used specifically as a symbol of sympathy, so is usually given to the family of the deceased, whilst a simple, white lily represents purity.
While certain colors of lilies mean different things in Japanese culture – orange lilies for revenge and hatred and white lilies for purity – red spider lilies have a particularly dark connotation. Sometimes referred to as the death flower, red spider lilies relate to final goodbyes.
Higanbana to use one of its many Japanese names. Or simply the flower of death. Poisonous to rodents and other wild animals, they were often planted in and around graveyards during Japan's pre-cremation days to stop the dead being eaten. The beginning, perhaps, of their connection with death.
Red spider lily / Higanbana
They are associated with final goodbyes, and legend has it that these flowers grow wherever people part ways for good. In old Buddhist writings, the red spider lily is said to guide the dead through samsara, the cycle of rebirth.
It is also implied that the Blue Spider Lily can nullify a demon's weakness to the sun if it's consumed, which is the reason to why Muzan was spending centuries searching for the flower.
It was then that Muzan realized the medicine actually had effect: he obtained a strong body, but due to the medicine being a prototype, he consequently could not walk into the sunlight and crave human flesh, turning him into a Demon.
White and yellow chrysanthemums are widely used to say goodbye, particularly in Asia.
The lily is the flower most commonly associated with funeral services as they symbolize the innocence that has been restored to the soul of the departed. The white lily expresses majesty and purity, where as white stargazer lilies specifically symbolize sympathy.
The corpse flower (Amorphophallus titanum) is the largest unbranched inflorescence in the plant kingdom, boasts a powerful stink, and blooms for just 2-3 days once every year or two. The bloom can grow up to 8 feet tall!
Hyacinth: The purple hyacinth is a popular symbol of sorrow and regret. For a funeral setting, this expression is certainly appropriate.
White - White is the traditional color of funeral flowers, as well as sympathy flowers. The color white evokes feelings of peace, innocence, and honor. White flowers are suitable for any funeral occasion. Red - Red flowers indicate beauty, as well as strength.
Events in the genome of Welwitschia have given it the ability to survive in an unforgiving desert for thousands of years.
Poppy. Cheerful poppies have a dark side: they're symbols of sleep and oblivion, and the Chinese flower calendar even calls the poppy a harbinger of evil, signifying the inability to control one's worst urges.
Abstract. Hymenocallis coronaria, also known as the rocky shoals spider lily , is a rare species that is restricted to Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina.
Spider lilies bloom in the fall, near the time of the autumnal equinox. In Japan they are associated with death. The Japanese word for the spider lily means “other shore,” a way of describing the afterlife. They are thought to guide the dead on their way to what we would call Heaven.
Edible uses
Bulb - cooked. It is used as a source of starch. The bulb is 2.5 to 3.5cm in diameter. Caution is advised, see the notes above on toxicity.