Birthstones and Flowers by Month: Chart and Meanings

Birthstones and flowers by month give every birthday two emblems at once: a gemstone that can be worn for decades and a flower that arrives with its season. The two lists grew up separately. The stones came through centuries of scripture, folklore and jewelers’ committees, while the flowers came from garden calendars and the Victorian habit of sending messages in bouquets. That is why they rarely agree perfectly from one source to the next. Below is a single chart that brings them together, then the story of each month, ideas for pairing them, and the care each stone asks for.

Birthstones and Flowers by Month: The Full Chart

Use this as a quick reference. The modern stones follow the most recent American trade list, the UK column shows the alternates the British list adds, and the flowers are the ones most often named for each month, with a second option where traditions split.

A few patterns stand out when you read birthstones and flowers by month side by side. Several months carry more than one gem, because committees added stones over the twentieth century rather than removing old ones. Flower lists split even more, partly because a bloom that opens in March in a mild garden may not appear until April somewhere colder. If your family has always used a different flower, that is not a mistake; it is simply another branch of the custom.

For a stones-only reference with more alternates, see our birthstones chart by month, and for the shades each gem comes in, the guide to colors for birthstones by month.

Where Birthstone and Birth Flower Traditions Come From

The long road to the modern birthstone list

The idea of a stone for each month reaches back to the twelve gems set in the breastplate of the high priest Aaron, described in the Book of Exodus. In the first century the historian Josephus linked those twelve stones with the twelve months and the twelve signs of the zodiac. Later, Saint Jerome suggested the twelve foundation stones of the New Jerusalem in the Book of Revelation as a Christian counterpart. For a long stretch the practice was to own all twelve stones and wear one each month.

Wearing a single stone tied to your own birth month is a much younger habit, only a few centuries old, and historians disagree on where it began: one account places it in eighteenth-century Poland, another in Germany in the 1560s. Translations of the ancient passages varied so widely that modern lists have drifted a long way from their origins.

The lists most people use today were fixed by trade bodies. In 1912 the American National Association of Jewelers met in Kansas City and adopted a standard list. A 1952 revision added alexandrite for June, citrine for November and pink tourmaline for October, swapped December’s lapis lazuli for zircon, and reversed March’s main and alternate stones. Tanzanite joined December in 2002, and spinel joined August in 2016. Britain’s goldsmiths published their own list in 1937, and in 2021 Japanese industry groups added ten new stones to theirs. Hindu tradition takes a different route entirely, linking nine gems, the Navaratna, to celestial bodies read from a birth chart rather than to calendar months. Our article on traditional birthstones by month follows the older lists in detail, and the zodiac birthstones guide covers the sign-based system.

Why birth flowers are looser

Birth flowers never had a committee. They grew out of what bloomed when, out of seasonal festivals, and out of the nineteenth-century language of flowers, in which each bloom carried a coded message. Because of that, flower meanings shift with colour (a red carnation says something different from a white one) and with culture. When you see two charts of birthstones and flowers by month disagree, the flower column is usually where the difference lies, and both versions may have long histories behind them.

January to April: Garnet, Amethyst, Aquamarine and Diamond

January: garnet, carnation and snowdrop

Garnet holds January on every list, old and new. It is usually pictured as a deep wine red, though garnets come in other colours too. In crystal traditions it is believed to stand for steadfast love and safe return from journeys, and many people wear it as a ring or keep a tumbled piece (a stone smoothed and polished in a rotating barrel) in a coat pocket through winter. The carnation is said to express admiration and love, while the snowdrop, pushing through frozen ground, stands for hope. Read more in our January birthstone guide.

February: amethyst, violet and primrose

Amethyst is the purple member of the quartz family, ranging from pale lilac to deep violet. Old Greek lore tied it to a clear head, and modern crystal traditions associate it with calm and clarity; many people keep an amethyst cluster (a group of crystals grown together on one base) near where they meditate or read before bed as a personal winding-down ritual. February’s flowers match its colour beautifully: the violet, linked to modesty and faithfulness, and the primrose, a symbol of youth. Some lists give the iris instead. Amethyst’s relatives are gathered in our Quartz & family section.

March: aquamarine, bloodstone, daffodil and jonquil

Aquamarine is a clear sea blue, and sailors’ folklore made it a charm for calm voyages. In crystal traditions it is linked with calm and honest speech. Bloodstone, a dark green stone flecked with red, was March’s main gem until the 1952 revision moved it to second place, and it has long been associated with courage. The daffodil and its cousin the jonquil are the month’s flowers, both standing for rebirth and new beginnings, which suits a month that straddles winter and spring.

April: diamond, daisy and sweet pea

Diamond needs little introduction: colourless and brilliant, it is linked in tradition with enduring love and clarity of purpose. The British list adds rock crystal, which is clear quartz, a gentler choice for anyone who loves the look of a clear stone. The daisy stands for innocence and cheerfulness, and the sweet pea carries a double meaning of thanks and fond farewells.

May to August: Emerald, Pearl, Ruby and Peridot

May: emerald, lily of the valley and hawthorn

Emerald’s green is the colour of late spring, and in many traditions the stone is associated with renewal, growth and loving loyalty. The UK list adds chrysoprase, an apple-green stone. Lily of the valley is said to promise the return of happiness, and the hawthorn, which froths white across hedgerows in May, is a symbol of hope. People often wear emerald in rings or pendants rather than carrying it loose, keeping it protected from knocks.

June: pearl, moonstone and alexandrite

June is the generous month, with three stones. Pearl has a soft, glowing lustre and is linked with purity and wisdom gained over time. Moonstone shows a pale sheen that seems to drift across its surface, and moon-centred traditions tie it to intuition and cycles; you can read more in our Moon & light section. Alexandrite, added in 1952, is prized for appearing to shift colour under different lighting. The rose is June’s flower, with each colour carrying its own message, and honeysuckle stands for devotion.

July: ruby, larkspur and water lily

Ruby is the deep red of high summer, associated in tradition with passion, vitality and courage. The UK list adds carnelian, a warm orange-red stone from the quartz family, which crystal traditions link with motivation; many people carry a tumbled carnelian on busy days. July’s flowers are the larkspur, standing for an open, light heart, and the water lily, a symbol of purity. Our July birthstones article explores ruby, carnelian and onyx further.

August: peridot, spinel and sardonyx

Peridot is a bright, slightly olive green and is linked in crystal traditions with warmth and good fortune; its wearability is covered in our note on peridot’s Mohs rating. Spinel joined August in 2016 and comes in many colours. Sardonyx, a banded stone, is the oldest of the three and was long associated with strength and good relationships. The gladiolus, sometimes called the sword lily, stands for strength of character, and the poppy for remembrance. See the full August birthstones guide.

September to December: Sapphire, Opal, Topaz and Turquoise

September: sapphire, aster and morning glory

Sapphire is best known as a deep blue, and tradition links it with wisdom, loyalty and calm judgement. The UK adds lapis lazuli, a deep blue stone often flecked with gold, associated with truth and self-expression. The aster, a late-summer star of a flower, stands for patience and love, and the morning glory for affection. Our September birthstones article goes deeper into sapphire and lapis.

October: opal, tourmaline, marigold and cosmos

Opal is famous for its play of colour, flashes of rainbow light that move as you tilt the stone, and crystal traditions associate it with creativity and hope. Tourmaline, and especially pink tourmaline added in 1952, offers a sturdier alternative in a wide range of colours. The marigold stands for warmth, though in some traditions it is also a flower of grief and of honouring the dead, so context matters. Cosmos, with its neat petals, is linked with order and harmony.

November: topaz, citrine and chrysanthemum

Topaz is the long-standing November stone and is often pictured in golden shades, though it comes in other colours. Citrine, added in 1952, is warm yellow quartz that crystal traditions connect with cheer and abundance; some people place it on a desk or near the front door. The chrysanthemum stands for friendship and joy in North America, but in parts of Europe it is the flower of graves and mourning, a useful thing to know before giving a bouquet abroad.

December: turquoise, zircon and tanzanite

Turquoise is an opaque sky blue to blue-green and has a long history as a protective stone across many cultures. Zircon replaced lapis lazuli on the American list in 1952, and violet-blue tanzanite arrived in 2002. The narcissus, especially the white paperwhite forced indoors for winter, stands for hope, and holly for protection and the warmth of home.

How to Pair a Birthstone With a Birth Flower

Because the two lists were never designed together, pairing them is a creative choice rather than a rule. Three approaches work well:

• Colour echo: match the stone’s colour to a variety of the flower, such as a violet amethyst with purple violets, or a red garnet with red carnations.
• Meaning echo: pair stones and flowers whose traditional meanings rhyme, like aquamarine’s calm voyages with the daffodil’s fresh start for someone beginning a new chapter.
• Season: lean on the flower as the seasonal half and the stone as the lasting half, so the bouquet marks the day and the gem stays.

A worked example: an October birthday

1. Choose the stone by wear. The person works with their hands, so rather than a delicate opal ring, you choose a pink tourmaline pendant that sits away from knocks.
2. Choose the flower by meaning. Marigold for warmth suits a friend, but you know their family marks marigolds as a mourning flower, so you switch to cosmos for harmony.
3. Make the flower last. Alongside fresh stems, you press one bloom and frame it, so the gift keeps both halves of the pairing.
4. Explain the pairing. A short card noting what each traditionally stands for turns two objects into a story.

The same thinking works for birthstone and flower tattoos, family jewelry that gathers several birth months, or a small home display where each person’s stone sits beside a dried flower. If you are collecting stones for a project like this, browse Spirit Magicka, the journal’s own crystal shop, and our crystal library for the background on each gem.

Caring for Birthstones and Keeping Birth Flowers Safe

Birthstones vary a great deal in how much wear they can take. Mohs hardness, a 1 to 10 scale of how well a mineral resists scratching, is the first thing to check; our guide to the Mohs scale explains how to read it. Hardness is not the whole story, because some stones are brittle or porous even when they resist scratches, so a few simple habits protect almost any piece:

• Wipe stones and jewelry with a soft, dry or barely damp cloth after wearing.
• Store each piece separately so harder gems cannot scratch softer ones.
• Take rings off before gardening, cleaning or lifting.
• Skip soaking, salt, ultrasonic cleaners and crystal “elixirs” unless you have confirmed the stone tolerates them; pearl, opal and turquoise in particular are best treated gently.
• Keep stones out of reach of small children and pets, since small tumbled pieces can be a choking risk.

The flower half deserves care too. Several birth flowers, including lily of the valley, daffodil, narcissus, larkspur and holly, are poisonous if eaten. Keep arrangements and pressed-flower crafts away from curious children, cats and dogs, and wash your hands after handling bulbs and stems.

Common Mistakes With Birth Month Stones and Flowers

• Assuming there is one official list. American, British and Japanese stone lists differ, and flower lists differ even more. Ask which version matters to the person you are buying for.
• Mixing up month and zodiac stones. A September birthday and a Virgo stone are different systems, and they often point to different gems.
• Treating meanings as promises. The meanings in this guide are traditions and beliefs that many people find meaningful, not guaranteed effects, and no crystal replaces medical or mental-health care. Our editorial approach explains how we write about them.
• Ignoring cultural signals. Chrysanthemums and marigolds can carry grief in some places, and a well-meant bouquet can land badly.
• Choosing beauty over wearability. A soft stone in an everyday ring will wear quickly; set it in a pendant or earrings instead.

Read this way, birthstones and flowers by month are less a fixed rulebook than a shared vocabulary: two lists, built in different centuries, that let you say something personal with a stone and a stem. Start from the chart, choose the version that fits the person, and let the story you tell matter as much as the gift. For more stones beyond the twelve months, explore Earth treasures in the library or visit Spirit Magicka.