Birth flower for September 7
Balloon flower
Meaning: unchanging love and honesty
Its buds puff up like tiny paper balloons before popping open into five-pointed stars — hence the name. In Japan it is one of the classic "Seven Flowers of Autumn," and the balloon-flower crest belonged to the samurai Akechi Mitsuhide. In Korea the root, called doraji, is eaten as a side dish and sung about in a famous folk song. Despite the similar Chinese name, the florist's "lisianthus" is a completely different plant.