The wreath on Belize’s national flag contains 50 leaves.
The leaves form part of the wreath surrounding the coat of arms in the flag’s central white disk. Their number commemorates 1950, the year the People’s United Party came to power and Belize’s organized independence movement began to develop. The wreath therefore carries a political and historical reference, rather than being merely decorative.
Belize’s flag was adopted on 21 September 1981, the day the country became independent. Its design features a royal-blue field, narrow red stripes along the top and bottom, and the national coat of arms. The arms show two woodcutters, tools, a mahogany tree and a ship, reflecting the importance of logging and mahogany to Belize’s earlier economy.
The number is easy to confuse with the flag’s adoption year, 1981, or with other counts in national symbols. The 50 leaves specifically point back to 1950. The motto beneath the shield, Sub umbra floreo, means “Under the shade I flourish,” connecting the emblem to Belize’s forests and historical development.