Forget-me-nots (Myosotis scorpioides) contains the word "scorpion" in its binomial.The doctrine of signatures dictated that the forget-me-nots should be very effective to treat the stings of scorpions and the bites of spiders, the scorpion not being a spider. The reason is that coiled raceme resembles a scrpion's tail, hence its placement in the doctrine of signatures.
Many legends tell how a flower came into being. The following three legends tell how one received its name.
1) A medieval knight walked beside a river with his lady-love. They spied lovely blue flowers growing on the bank of the river. The knight, being every-thoughtful as all knights in shining, and creaking, armour are, picked a bouquet of the lovely blue flower. Because of the weight of his armour he fell into the rushing river. Before he was swept away and drowned (or rusted) he threw the bouquet to his lady-love and shouted, "Forget me nooooot!" This had to do with legend for wealthy knights wore their expensive, heavy and hot armor in battles and in macho knightly games; they never simply sat or walked around in armour without a couple strong guys to help him get up or around. Getting upon a horse was a major group effort. Speaking of knights it was once believed that the juice of the flower would enhance the sharpness of swords to the point that the weapon would slice through stones.
2) An old German legend reminds us that Adam was to name the animals. We know that. In the legend it was God who began to name all the flowers when a tiny plant cried out pitifully in German, "Vergiss mich nicht" ("Forget-me-not"). God replied, "That shall be thy name."
3) A French wayfarer was roaming in a lovely but lonely valley and saw a flower he had never seen before. It was right at his feet. As soon as he leaned over and picked the flower the mountainside opened up.
He entered the deep rift and saw great amounts of gold and uncut precious gems. He began to gather as many as he could but he inadvertently dropped the small flower in the process of gathering. the flower cried faintly, as small French flowers do, "Ne m'oubliez pas." The wayfarer was so intent with gathering that he ignored the flower's plea. Suddenly the rift began to close and the wayfarer scrambled out just in time.
However, he dropped all the gold and the precious gems. Worse yet, the lovely flower was swallowed up in the closure. He lost the flower that was the key to opening the mountain side and he lost the gold.
The old French called the flower "ne m'oubliez pas." The English translated that literally "forget me not."
Henry IV adopted this small blue flower as his symbol during his exile in 1398 and retained it when he returned to England. He did not wish to be forgotten while in exile. What king would wish to be forgotten?
The For-get-me-not is the state flower of Alaska.
They grow best in shady areas.
In Somerset, England it was believed that if one wore a forget me not he would be protected against witches; especially in May.
In 1926, following WW I, The Disabled American Veterans began selling for-get-me-nots to make money for wounded veterans of WW I. It is always good to support our wounded veterans and to thank all veterans for their service to our country and to us and to forget them not.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote, in Evangeline:
Silently, one by one, in the infinite meadows of Heaven,
Bloom the lovely stars, the for-get-me-nots of the angels.
More recently we find a 2009 film by that name.
Many legends tell how a flower came into being. The following three legends tell how one received its name.
1) A medieval knight walked beside a river with his lady-love. They spied lovely blue flowers growing on the bank of the river. The knight, being every-thoughtful as all knights in shining, and creaking, armour are, picked a bouquet of the lovely blue flower. Because of the weight of his armour he fell into the rushing river. Before he was swept away and drowned (or rusted) he threw the bouquet to his lady-love and shouted, "Forget me nooooot!" This had to do with legend for wealthy knights wore their expensive, heavy and hot armor in battles and in macho knightly games; they never simply sat or walked around in armour without a couple strong guys to help him get up or around. Getting upon a horse was a major group effort. Speaking of knights it was once believed that the juice of the flower would enhance the sharpness of swords to the point that the weapon would slice through stones.
2) An old German legend reminds us that Adam was to name the animals. We know that. In the legend it was God who began to name all the flowers when a tiny plant cried out pitifully in German, "Vergiss mich nicht" ("Forget-me-not"). God replied, "That shall be thy name."
3) A French wayfarer was roaming in a lovely but lonely valley and saw a flower he had never seen before. It was right at his feet. As soon as he leaned over and picked the flower the mountainside opened up.
He entered the deep rift and saw great amounts of gold and uncut precious gems. He began to gather as many as he could but he inadvertently dropped the small flower in the process of gathering. the flower cried faintly, as small French flowers do, "Ne m'oubliez pas." The wayfarer was so intent with gathering that he ignored the flower's plea. Suddenly the rift began to close and the wayfarer scrambled out just in time.
However, he dropped all the gold and the precious gems. Worse yet, the lovely flower was swallowed up in the closure. He lost the flower that was the key to opening the mountain side and he lost the gold.
The old French called the flower "ne m'oubliez pas." The English translated that literally "forget me not."
Henry IV adopted this small blue flower as his symbol during his exile in 1398 and retained it when he returned to England. He did not wish to be forgotten while in exile. What king would wish to be forgotten?
The For-get-me-not is the state flower of Alaska.
They grow best in shady areas.
In Somerset, England it was believed that if one wore a forget me not he would be protected against witches; especially in May.
In 1926, following WW I, The Disabled American Veterans began selling for-get-me-nots to make money for wounded veterans of WW I. It is always good to support our wounded veterans and to thank all veterans for their service to our country and to us and to forget them not.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote, in Evangeline:
Silently, one by one, in the infinite meadows of Heaven,
Bloom the lovely stars, the for-get-me-nots of the angels.
More recently we find a 2009 film by that name.
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