Lilies have been cultivated for over 3000 years. Feng Shui believers hold the lily as an emblem of summer and abundance; to the Chinese, lily means "Forever in love". The lily was the holy flower of the ancient Assyrians. Until the 16th century the Madonna lily was the only garden variety known, because of this the "lilies of the field" as mentioned in the bible are thought to be this specific lily. A lily has adorned the coat of arms of the kings of France since 1179. King Chlodwig I allegedly received this 'fleur de lys', as it is called in heraldic language, from an angel. But in actual fact his flower wasn't a lily, as the name implies, but an iris. Via Louis XI the motif made its way to the coat of arms of the Medici family, and from there on to the arms of Florence and Tuscany. Interestingly, only the Florentine 'fleur de lys' has stamens like a lily.