also: やか
noun
wild flower
General term for flowers growing in the wild, not cultivated.
春になると野原に野花がたくさん咲く。
In spring, many wild flowers bloom in the fields.
noun
paper flowers (funeral decoration)
Only with reading のばな
Specifically refers to artificial paper flowers used as decoration at funerals. Compare 紙花 (sense 2).
See also: 紙花
葬儀の祭壇には白い野花が飾られていた。
White paper flowers were displayed on the funeral altar.
Obsolete kana reading for the wild flower sense; not used in modern Japanese.
紙花 (sense 2) also means paper flowers used at funerals; 野花 is a synonym with the same meaning when read のばな.
Compound of 野 (の, 'field') and 花 (はな, 'flower'), with rendaku voicing of はな to ばな.