How Many Purple Flowers Are on Ginger Island in Stardew Valley’s Survey?

There are 22 purple flowers on Ginger Island in Stardew Valley. Enter 22 when Professor Snail asks the purple flower question at the Island Field Office. You do not need to physically collect the flowers or count them during a single visit. Choosing the correct answer completes that part of the Island Survey and earns one Golden Walnut.

The Purple Flower Answer Is 22

Professor Snail’s Island Survey asks how many purple flowers can be found across Ginger Island. The correct response is:

22 purple flowers

The flowers are part of the island’s scenery rather than collectible items. You cannot pick them up, place them in your inventory, or use them to complete the survey. The challenge is simply a visual counting question.

Once you select 22 from the available answers, Professor Snail confirms that the response is correct and gives you one Golden Walnut.

Where Is the Purple Flower Survey?

The purple flower question is located inside the Island Field Office in the northern area of Ginger Island. The office sits east of the Dig Site and south of the Volcano Dungeon entrance.

When you first reach the area, the office is empty because Professor Snail is trapped inside a nearby cave. You must rescue him before you can use the fossil displays or complete the Island Survey.

After his rescue, Professor Snail returns to the Field Office. Enter the building and interact with the survey area at the back of the room to answer the questions.

How to Rescue Professor Snail

Professor Snail is trapped in a cave near the Dig Site. The entrance is blocked by a large boulder that cannot be removed with an ordinary pickaxe.

To free him, place a bomb beside the blocked cave entrance. A cherry bomb, regular bomb, or mega bomb can destroy the obstruction. After the explosion clears the entrance, Professor Snail is rescued and begins operating the Island Field Office.

If you do not have a bomb with you, return after crafting or purchasing one. The rescue does not require a special quest item or a particular bomb size.

What Is Professor Snail’s Island Survey?

The Island Survey is separate from the fossil collection displayed inside the Field Office. Professor Snail uses it to test your observations of Ginger Island’s plants and sea life.

There are two survey questions:

• How many purple flowers are on Ginger Island?
• How many purple starfish are on Ginger Island?

Each question has one fixed answer. The numbers do not change with the season, weather, game year, farm type, or save file.

The game presents several possible responses, but you can choose only one answer for each survey per day.

How Many Purple Starfish Are on Ginger Island?

The other Island Survey answer is:

18 purple starfish

The starfish can be seen around the island’s coastal areas. Like the purple flowers, they are decorative objects rather than collectible forage items.

Remember the two numbers together:

• Purple flowers: 22
• Purple starfish: 18

A simple memory trick is that the flower count is the higher number. There are four more purple flowers than purple starfish.

What Happens if You Choose the Wrong Answer?

Choosing the wrong number does not permanently block the survey. Professor Snail tells you that the answer is incorrect, and you can try again on the following in-game day.

You cannot immediately select another number on the same day. Leave the office, continue with other island activities, sleep, and return after the next morning begins.

There is no additional punishment for an incorrect answer. You do not lose money, friendship points, items, or previously collected Golden Walnuts.

What Reward Do You Receive?

Each correct Island Survey answer rewards you with one Golden Walnut. Completing both questions therefore provides two Golden Walnuts in total.

Golden Walnuts are used to unlock important Ginger Island features, including new routes, buildings, transportation options, and late-game areas. Even one additional walnut can help when you are close to opening the next part of the island.

The surveys also contribute to completing all of Professor Snail’s Field Office research.

Do You Need to Count Every Flower Yourself?

You can explore the island and try to count every purple flower, but the game does not require you to do so. The flowers are scattered across multiple areas, and decorative details can make the process confusing.

Some flowers appear close together, while others blend into tropical vegetation. Changes in screen position, zoom level, and movement between island sections can also make it easy to count the same object twice or miss one entirely.

Entering 22 completes the survey regardless of whether you personally examined every flower.

Can the Purple Flowers Be Removed?

The survey flowers are permanent pieces of the Ginger Island environment. They are not weeds, crops, forage items, or decorations that you can move.

Using a scythe, axe, pickaxe, or bomb near ordinary scenery does not reduce the official survey count. The answer remains 22 even after you clear weeds, break rocks, plant crops, or develop the island farm.

This also means you cannot accidentally ruin the survey by clearing vegetation before visiting Professor Snail.

Does the Flower Count Change by Season?

No. Ginger Island does not follow the same visible seasonal cycle as Pelican Town. Its tropical environment remains relatively consistent throughout the year.

The purple flower survey answer stays at 22 during spring, summer, fall, and winter. Weather conditions and the day of the week do not affect it.

The answer also remains the same on PC, console, and mobile versions of the game.

How to Complete the Island Field Office

The surveys are only one part of Professor Snail’s research. To finish the Island Field Office, you must also complete several fossil displays.

The required collections include:

• A large animal skeleton
• A snake skeleton
• A mummified frog
• A mummified bat
• The purple flower survey
• The purple starfish survey

Fossil pieces can come from activities such as breaking Bone Nodes, digging Artifact Spots, fishing, panning, opening Golden Coconuts, cutting jungle weeds, and breaking rocks in the Volcano Dungeon.

Each completed section provides a reward. Completing all fossil collections and both surveys eventually unlocks the recipe for the Ostrich Incubator.

Why the Ostrich Incubator Recipe Matters

The Ostrich Incubator allows you to hatch an Ostrich Egg inside a fully upgraded barn. Without the recipe, owning an Ostrich Egg is not enough to raise an ostrich on your farm.

Ostriches produce additional eggs, which can be sold or processed into mayonnaise. One Ostrich Egg creates multiple jars of mayonnaise, with the quality determined by the egg.

Completing the Island Survey is therefore a small but necessary part of unlocking one of the game’s unusual late-game farm animals.

Quick Island Survey Answers

Use these answers when speaking with Professor Snail:

• Purple flowers on Ginger Island: 22
• Purple starfish on Ginger Island: 18

Each correct answer gives one Golden Walnut. If you select the wrong number, return on the next in-game day and try again.

The Bottom Line

There are 22 purple flowers on Ginger Island. Select 22 when answering Professor Snail’s flower survey inside the Island Field Office.

The answer to the related purple starfish question is 18. Completing both surveys rewards you with two Golden Walnuts and moves you closer to finishing the Field Office collection.

You do not need to collect, touch, or personally count the flowers. Rescue Professor Snail, enter the Field Office, choose 22 for the flower question, and claim your reward.