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Hollyhock

Flora
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A tall garden flower with large, saucer-shaped blooms in pinks, reds, or whites.

Detailed Definition
Hollyhocks symbolize ambition, fruitfulness, and the charm of cottage gardens in poetry. Their towering stalks suggest aspiration, while their open blooms convey generosity. Victorian poets used them to evoke domestic nostalgia and the quiet dignity of homely beauty.
Example
Example in poetry:
Hollyhock appears in cottage garden poetry: “Hollyhocks tower by the whitewashed wall”; In Victorian verse, it meant “ambition” or “fruitfulness”; Modern poets admire its tall spires: “Hollyhock soldiers line the path”; In love poetry, its old-fashioned charm evokes nostalgia: “Grandmother’s hollyhocks—pink, proud, plentiful”; In eco-poetry, it’s pollinator magnet: “Bees climb hollyhock ladders all July”; In sensory verse, its papery blooms delight: “Hollyhock petals—tissue-thin, sun-warmed.”
Additional Notes
Hollyhock (Alcea rosea) lines cottage gardens with tall spires of ruffled blooms; symbolizes ambition, fruitfulness, and homely charm; in Japanese poetry, it’s linked to the Tokugawa shogunate; its biennial cycle offers metaphors of patience or delayed reward.
Also Known As
Alcea Holly Cock
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