The flower traditionally associated with the Netherlands is the tulip.
Tulips became strongly linked with the Netherlands after reaching Europe from the Ottoman Empire in the sixteenth century. Dutch growers, traders, and horticulturalists helped turn the flower into a major cultural and commercial symbol. The Netherlands later developed world-famous bulb-growing regions and became one of the leading producers and exporters of tulips.
The association intensified during tulip mania, a speculative frenzy that affected the Dutch Republic from about 1634 to 1637. Rare bulbs were traded at extraordinary prices before the market collapsed. Although the episode is often exaggerated, it left a lasting impression on popular ideas about Dutch history and tulips.
Tulips are not native to the Netherlands; their deeper origins lie in Central Asia, and they were cultivated extensively in the Ottoman world before arriving in Western Europe. Today, Dutch tulips are displayed dramatically at Keukenhof, while fields in the Netherlands support a large international cut-flower and bulb industry. That history explains the traditional association, even though the flower originated elsewhere.