Canada: 150 years without a national flower?

Can you name Canada's national flower?

It's a trick question.  We don't have one.

That's why Maureen Hulbert, a member of the Toronto chapter of Master Gardeners of Ontario, wants the federal government to pick one.

To do that, she's enlisted the help of other master gardeners from coast to coast to come up with the most Canadian bloom.

Hulbert said she first realized the country was without a national flower during the Canada Blooms festival in March.

"I thought [the Master Gardeners] should have a presentation about celebrating Canada's floral diversity and Canada's national flower should be a part of it," Hulbert said. "When I went to look it up, I found out we don't actually have one."

The gardeners then went to work, soliciting advice from their cross-country network.

"We thought it should be something that grows in every province or territory that's not already a provincial flower," she said of some of the basic criteria, adding that the gardeners were also looking for a symbol that could be representative of Canada.

And after making presentations at flower shows and taking feedback, the group came up with the following shortlist:

Twinflower

A delicate pink nodding flower, that also provides forage for winter caribou. Hulbert said the Twinflower strikes her as being very Canadian, as its botanical name is Linnaea borealis, which sends a nod to our northern heritage.

"The two flowers are also a nod to Canada's two arrivals, the French and English, over a hundred years ago," she said.

The Twinflower also drew favourable reviews from Claudette Sims, the president of the Master Gardeners of Ontario.

"Twinflowers are such sweet little flowers," she said. "They work in pairs."

Hooded Lady's Tresses

The Hooded Lady's Tresses are wild bog orchids with white spiraling flowers, Hulbert said. The flower is one of about 65 species of orchid native to Canada.

It's also a popular destination for bees.

Sims added that the flowers are noteworthy for their look, resembling braided hair.

Bunchberry

Rounding out the list is Bunchberry, which flowers in spring — also benefiting bees and other pollinators — and grows berries in the summer as a source of food for animals.

It also provides forage in the winter.

Hulbert said she likes its very Canadian botanical name: Cornus canadensis.

"It has Canada right in its name. It's a great selling feature," she said, adding that it's nice to celebrate native plants that do ecological good.

Bunchberry appeared to be the top choice for a number of experts, including Nancy Turner, an ethnobotanist at the University of Victoria and a researcher with an extensive history working with First Nations elders and cultural specialists.

"I would go with Bunchberry, which, indeed has a history of Indigenous Peoples' use and knowledge, at least on the west coast," she said. "There is even a Nuu-chah-nulth story about its origin at the base of cedar trees."

'We'll want to seek it out and protect it'

Highlighting a flower as Canada's own is an important symbolic gesture, Claudette Sims said, adding that she was very excited about the endeavour when she first heard about it.

"Once a national flower is chosen, we'll want to seek it out and protect it instead of walking past it in the forest," she said. "I think having a flower helps us to connect."

Sims pointed to all the attention surrounding the Canada 150 tulips and the number of people wanting to grow them.

"The key thing about these three choices is that all occur across all the Canadian provinces and territories, so they truly represent a potential national flower," said Todd Boland, a research horticulturist at Newfoundland's Memorial University. He also helped select the three candidates.

"Our native plants are essential to the health of our living world," he continued. "They may seem like such a small part of nature but insects, especially pollinators, require them to survive."

The master gardeners hope is to get enough votes in the online poll before it closes on June 30, Maureen Hulbert said. That would allow them to present the final choice to Governor General David Johnston.

Hulbert said she'd like to announce the pick on Canada Day.

"We all love to celebrate the wildness of Canada and its varied areas and having something that can actually grow in every part of the country pulls us together," she said.