36 Amazing Flowers That Start With A

Written by Rebecca Mathews
Updated: November 7, 2023
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Common flowers that start with the letter A include African Lily, Aconite, Amaryllis, Anemone, Anthurium, Aster, Angelonia, African Daisy, Astilbe, Alchemilla, Aubrieta, Arum Lily, Anthericum, Alyssum, and Angel Trumpet. Read on to learn more about these amazing flowers!

The world is full of beautiful flowers that not only look amazing but many also produce scents, shapes, sounds, and tastes. Without flowers, we’d be in a sticky situation indeed. Bees, butterflies, hoverflies, and immeasurable pollinators drink their nectar to survive and take the pollen when they leave. This pollen fertilizes our crops. Let’s discover more about our world’s incredible flowers. This article uncovers 16 amazing flowers that start with A, plus 36 in a long list if you wish to go even further.

1. African Lily

African lily is a perennial or evergreen flower with strappy long leaves and amazing white or blue flower heads held high above its foliage. You might know this flower as agapanthus or Lily of the Nile. It has a lot of cultivars, including dwarf and stripey plants that bloom from late spring into fall.

This beautiful flower starting with A is native to South Africa’s coastline. It loves sandy soils, well-drained earth, and plenty of sunshine. If yours just won’t flower, try placing it in a small container. Agapanthus love restricted roots. Be sure to water it!

A closeup picture an African lily queen with green background

African lily is native to South Africa’s coastline.

©Wirestock Creators/Shutterstock.com

2. Aconite

An amazing flower that starts with A is aconite, but it’s better known as wolfsbane or monkshood due to its hood-shaped flowers. Native to Western and Central Europe, aconites were historically an important part of the medieval eye and pain treatments.

However, its stunning foxglove-like blue flowers are poisonous, so it’s best to keep children and pets far away. Did you know huntsman would dip their arrow in aconite liquid to poison wolves? That’s how it got the name Wolfsbane.

aconitum napellus

Its stunning foxglove-like blue flowers are poisonous, so it’s best to keep children and pets far away.

©iStock.com/LianeM

3. Amaryllis

These flowers grow from bulbs each year, and we know them best as the Christmas flower.

There are two species: Amaryllis paradisicola and Amaryllis belladonna, and both have large red trumpet-like flowers on strappy, thick green foliage. They happily grow indoors during winter, so we tend to grow them in the festive season.

Amaryllis Alfresco

Amaryllis Alfresco is a lovely white flower.

©iStock.com/Patcharamai Vutipapornkul

4. Anemone

In early spring, a beautiful flower that starts with A is anemone. 100-120 species exist, and they’re native to Europe, North America, and Japan.

White, blue, yellow, or red flowers sit on delicate long stalks and attract pollinators when there is much nectar about. Anemones love woodlands, where they quickly spread with little assistance.

Anemone coronaria 'Hollandia' a spring flowering bulbious plant with a red springtime flower, stock photo image

White, blue, yellow, or red flowers sit on delicate long stalks and attract pollinators when there is much nectar about.

©iStock.com/TonyBaggett

5. Anthurium

Anthurium flowers are unusual, shiny, leathery-looking beauties with bright red heart-shaped bracts and a spadix covered in miniature flowers. Great houseplants and yard plants for hot zones, anthuriums are popular for their strange looks.

You might know it better as the flamingo flower or boy flower (no prizes for guessing why it’s called a “boy” flower!). They originate from the Caribbean and South America and have fairly dry roots. Only water these exotic beauties once the soil is dry an inch down.

Laceleaf

They are unusual, shiny, leathery-looking beauties with bright red heart-shaped bracts

©Goodvibes Photos/Shutterstock.com

6. Aster

Asters bloom all summer long and into fall, so they are popular garden plants. Some folks call them daisies because they have a yellow disk center surrounded by soft, straight petals.

The most common species has purple-blue petals, but there are 170 species. The majority of asters are perennial, and they all grow best in moist soil with plenty of sun on their faces. They’ll struggle to flower in the shade.

The most common species has purple-blue petals, but there are 170 species.

©Matt Berger / CC BY 4.0 – License

7. Angelonia

Angelonia, the summer snapdragon, is native to Mexico and Argentina. It’s an herbaceous flower that prefers dry habitats and dislikes rain or lots of humidity. Lots of beautiful cultivars bred from Angelonia angustifolia brighten hot zones and Mediterranean gardens.

Its snapdragon-like flowers have evolved with a specialist pollinator, the oil bee. Hairs on Angelonia’s inner corolla tempt in oil bees who trample in the pollen. Result!   

Angelonia goyazensis Benth

Lots of beautiful cultivars bred from Angelonia angustifolia brighten hot zones and Mediterranean gardens.

©iStock.com/pimonpim

8. African Daisy

African daisies are vibrant colored flowers in shades of yellow, purple, pink, orange, white, and bi-colors, sitting on a froth of mid-green foliage. They’re known for their rapid growth habit, often going from nothing to fully flowered in two months.

There are 70 species of African daisy, and they’re reliable perennials in zones 10-11, but in the UK and northern Europe, most gardeners treat them as annuals, growing from seed each year. They’ll Usain Bolt-style growth habits mean they’re popular bedding plants.

White "Blue-eyed African Daisy" flower.

The blue-eyed African daisy (pictured) consists of beautiful white flowers with a yellow ring of yellow at the base of the petals.

©RukiMedia/Shutterstock.com

9. Astilbe

Astilbe is one of the prettiest and most delicate-looking flowers starting with A.

Astilbes have narrow mid-green to brown foliage topped with a plumed froth of tiny white, pink, red, or purple flowers. Shade is the best spot to grow these fluffy beauties, where they never disappoint you.

Perennial astilbes die down to nothing over winter, then fully re-grow in spring. Their flowers appear in early spring and throughout summer. If you have a shady yard, an astilbe or 10 is essential.

Pink fresh astilbe flowers with green foliage

Shade is the best spot to grow these fluffy beauties, where they never disappoint you.

©iStock.com/Sansargo

10. Alchemilla

Alchemilla is a low-maintenance perennial that grows in a wide range of soils, from dry chalk to damp, acidic earth. It’s better known as Lady’s Mantle and a good bet for woodland-style gardens beneath hedges and wildlife-friendly areas.

It grows in spring, first appearing as a mound of scalloped bright green foliage that catches raindrops and shimmers. Then, in spring and summer, billows of frothy yellow flowers emerge. Historically, alchemilla treated muscle spasms, wounds, and “women’s ailments.” Recent research shows alchemilla does have medicinal properties, so our ancestors were on to something good.

This is a classic low-maintenance plant, but its sap is irritating, so always wear gloves when handling it.

Alchemilla mollis or lady's mantle with a butterfly perched on top of its yellow flowers.

It grows in spring, first appearing as a mound of scalloped bright green foliage that catches raindrops and shimmers.

©Kenan TALAS/Shutterstock.com

11. Aubrieta

Perennial aubretia is a classic edging plant and one of the brightest amazing flowers that start with A. It flowers in early spring in a huge flush of lilac purple, covering walls, container edges, and open soil with pollinator-friendly blooms.

You may know it better as a lilac bush or purple rock cress. Either way, it’s one of those bedding plants that keep on giving and come back better year after year. Plant it in full sun or partial shade for the best flower show.

Aubretia or Aubrieta low spreading hardy evergreen perennial flowering plants with multiple dense small violet flowers with yellow center planted in local garden looking as texture or wallpaper

You may know it better as a lilac bush or purple rock cress.

©Hecos/Shutterstock.com

12. Arum Lily

Arum lily is a beautiful calla lily native to southern and eastern Africa. It’s an exotic-looking bold flower that sits on a thick green stalk above a clump of glossy green foliage.

Its blooms are huge and fluted like a vase with a long, spiky spadix. Pink, yellow, orange, and purple versions exist, but the most popular is classic pure white. It’s essential in cut flower work and very popular in bouquets.

Zantedeschia Aethiopica

It’s an exotic-looking bold flower that sits on a thick green stalk above a clump of glossy green foliage.

©Fabrizio Guarisco/Shutterstock.com

13. Anthericum

Anthericum is a rhizomatous perennial with grass-like leaves. It has pure white six-petalled flowers that grow along slim but tough two-foot-long stems. If you’re after vertical interest in a dry flower border, Anthericum is an excellent choice. It’ll flower for months in spring.

Anthericum is native to Europe’s dry pasture, woods, and rocky shorelines, where it’s commonly called St. Bernard’s Lily.

White Anthericum liliago blossoms in the garden

This is a rhizomatous perennial with grass-like leaves.

©Tagetes/Shutterstock.com

14. Alyssum

Carpet-forming alyssum is one of the ground-covering flowers that start with A. Some folks call it sweet alyssum for its sweetly fragrant flowers.

These flowers are the stars of an annual garden and one of the easiest to grow. Each plant produces mat-forming mounds with lance-shaped leaves up to an inch long. In spring, dense clusters of scented white flowers sit atop the carpet. The flowers are so numerous they’ll entirely cover the foliage.

Modern cultivars include purple, pink, rose, and apricot alyssums, but it’s hard to beat the original white beauty.

Alyssum (Lobularia maritima) flowers, California

Sweet Alyssum grows in large bunches of small white flowers.

©iStock.com/Sundry Photography

15. Angel Trumpet

Angel trumpets have distinctive 12-inch-long trumpet-shaped flowers that hang from their stiff, woody branches. Each flower is sweetly scented during the evening and pollinated by moths.

These amazing flowers start with A natively grows in South America. They can reach 6.5 feet tall and produce either apricot, pink, white, or yellow flowers. They grow outside in tropical zones but are not frost-hardy, so they must head indoors for winter in cool zones and northern Europe.

Angel's Trumpet Flowers Hanging in Northern Vietnam

These amazing flowers start with A natively grows in South America.

©Globepouncing/Shutterstock.com

16. Anise Hyssop

Anise hyssop is often called agastache, and it’s one of the best flowers that start with A for pollinators. Bees love agastache, and it brings all the hummingbirds to the yard.

This pollinator magnet belongs to the mint family and loves full sun and well-drained soil. Reaching several feet tall, agastache’s licorice-scented tiny purple flowers bloom all summer on towering spikes. Its hairy, rough foliage is pest and disease-resistant so long as it’s not consistently damp.

Anise hyssop flowers

The anise hyssop is a plant in the mint family and one of the major attractions for pollinators.

©iStock.com/BethAmber

Summary of 36 Amazing Flowers That Start With A – Continued!


We’ve met 16 amazing flowers that start with A and admired their characteristics, but if you don’t want to stop there, here are 36 flowers that start with A.

Flowers that start with AScientific name
African LilyAgapanthus africanus
AconiteAconite napellus
AlliumAllium sativum
AmaryllisAmaryllis
AnemoneAnemone coronaria
AsterAster amellus
AngeloniaAngelonia angustifolia
African daisyOsteospermum spp.
AstilbeAstilbe
AlchemillaAlchemilla vulgaris
AubrietiaAubretia
Arum lilyZantedeschia aethiopica
AnthuriumAnthurium
AlyssumLobularia maritima
Alpine asterAster alpinus
Angel trumpetBrugmansia
Anise hyssopAgastache
AvensAvena fatua
AgeratumAgeratum houstonianum
AstrantiaAstrantia
AubretiaAubrieta deltoidea
AlstroemeriaAlstroemeria aurea
AquilegiaAquilegia vulgaris
AcanthusAcanthus mollis
AconitumAconitum napellus
AgaveAgave
Asclepias syriacaAsclepias syriaca
AntirrhinumAntirrhinum majus
AjugaAjuga reptans
Aloe veraAloe barbadensis miller
AraliaPolyscias fruticosa
AsclepiusAsclepius
AspleniumAsplenium nidus
Apple blossomMalus
AcorusAcorus calamus

The photo featured at the top of this post is ©


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About the Author

Rebecca is a writer at A-Z Animals where her primary focus is on plants and geography. Rebecca has been writing and researching the environment for over 10 years and holds a Master’s Degree from Reading University in Archaeology, which she earned in 2005. A resident of England’s south coast, Rebecca enjoys rehabilitating injured wildlife and visiting Greek islands to support the stray cat population.

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