Cherokee Rose

A Cherokee Rose, taxinomical name: Rosa laevigata, is a white-pedaled flower native to Southeast Asia, but also grows in the United States. The flower is the center of a legend that dates back to the year 1838 members of the Cherokee nation were put into forced exile on the Trail of Tears. The mothers of the Cherokee were grieving so much that they were unable to help their children survive the journey. The elders prayed for a sign that would lift their spirits and give them strength. The following day, a beautiful rose began to grow where each of the mother’s tears fell.

The Walking Dead
The legend of the Cherokee Rose was described in a season two episode of the AMC survival horror TV series The Walking Dead, which was also titled, "Cherokee Rose".

In the episode, zombie plague survivor Daryl Dixon is searching through abandoned homesteads in rural Georgia in search of a missing girl named Sophia Peletier. After doing a sweep of one particular home, he spied a Cherokee Rose in bloom on the perimeter of the estate. He picked it, planted in an empty beer bottle and brought it back to Sophia's mother, Carol Peletier. Daryl was familiar with the legend of the Cherokee Rose and recounted it for Carol:

"It's a Cherokee Rose. The story is that when American soldiers were moving Indians off their land on the Trail of Tears, the Cherokee mothers were grieving and crying so much 'cause they were losing their little ones along the way from exposure and disease and starvation. A lot of them just disappeared. So the elders, they said a prayer; asked for a sign to uplift the mothers' spirits, give them strength and hope. The next day this rose started to grow where the mothers' tears fell. I'm not fool enough to think there's any flowers blooming for my brother. But I believe this one bloomed for your little girl."

Daryl's sentiment was kind and in the right place, if albeit slightly skewed. His intent was to give Carol the rose as a symbolic gesture similar to that of lighting a candle to lead the lost back home. However, as it relates to the story, the rose actually symbolizes the notion that Sophia is already dead and that Carol should simply abandon hope. As it turned out, this proved to be no small measure of foreshadowing, for Sophia Peletier actually was dead and had since turned into a walker and was being housed in a barn at the Greene farm.

Notes & Trivia

 * The Cherokee Rose is the state flower of Georgia, which is where The Walking Dead takes place.