What are gothic flowers? Well, since a lot of you have had your say on social media about whether flowers can be truly black, the term ‘gothic’ seems an apt replacement.
Gothic flowers are flowers that appear black in a certain light. Or if you squint a bit. They have an allure that you probably won’t get from a Begonia or a Marigold. A certain dark magic!
I’ve picked 13 of my favourite gothic flowers – I’m sure I don’t have to explain why I picked the number 13 – and listed them below. Have a browse and let me know in the comments section what your favourite is!
Iris chrysographes
Fritillaria persica
Aquilegia Black Barlow
Pulsatilla rubra subsp. hispanica
Viola Molly Sanderson
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Petunia Black Velvet
Kennedia nigricans
Hellebore Black
Tulip Continental
Alcea nigra
Tacca chantrieri – Bat Plant
Hyacinth Midnight Mystic
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Lily Landini

Michael has been involved with gardening and plants since he was just five years old. He is a self-professed Plant Geek, and was listed in the Sunday Times top 20 most influential people in the gardening world, thanks to his plant hunter role at Thompson & Morgan.
Michael was responsible for new plant introductions such as the Egg and Chips plant and the FuchsiaBerry and keeps busy travelling the world in search of new plants as well as lecturing worldwide, including stints in Japan. He is very active on social media – so why not give him a follow at @mr_plantgeek or Facebook – and writes a plant-focused Substack called Grow This, Not That.
Allison Headington
Very nice because i am more of a orange and yellows
Pinque
Doesn’t that defeat the point of the article though?
Shelly
Wow! I never knew there were so many black flowers! Thanks and I think I’ll try one or two. :}
Pinque
You should have included sweet potato plants! Those beautiful black cascading leaves are amazing!