10 November: Forget-me-not day

Today is Forget-me-not Day. Here are ten things you possibly didn't know about these flowers.

1. There are 74 recognised species of forget-me-not. They belong to the genus Myosotis, which comes from the Greek for "mouse's ear," because the leaves reminded botanists of mouse's ears.
2. The common name in English dates back to the middle ages, when it was derived from the German name Vergissmeinnicht.
3. I came across two different German legends which explain the origin of the name. In one, God named all the plants, but missed the tiny Blue flowers. As God turned to leave, the little flower called out, "Forget-me-not, O Lord!" God replied, "That shall be your name." In the other, a knight and his lady were strolling along a river bank when she saw a blue-flowered plant which had been dislodged by the current and was floating away. She wanted to save the plant, so the knight leapt into the river to retrieve it. The current was so strong it swept him away too, but not before he managed to reach the flowers and throw them to her. As he was carried out the sea he called “Vergiss mein nicht,” which means forget-me-not.
4. A Greek legend says that when God was giving all the flowers their colours, He again forgot the little forget-me-not, which again had to call out to the Lord so as not to be left out. By this time, all God had left was a tiny bit of blue. Luckily, the forget-me-not was more than happy to be blue.
5. The flowers are very small, typically 1 cm diameter (or less). They are usually blue with yellow centres but there are White, Pink and Yellow varieties, too.
6. In the language of flowers, they represent true and undying love, remembrance when parted, including by death, fidelity despite challenges, lasting connections between two people, and growing affection. It is a birth flower for those born in September.
7. The forget-me-not is the state flower of Alaska and the county flower of Westmorland.
8. When Henry IV was banished, he chose the forget-me-not as his emblem and the French name, "souvenez-vous de moi," as his motto. His followers wore them to show their support.
9. It’s said that after the Battle of Waterloo, forget-me-nots sprang up across the battlefield where Blood had soaked the ground.
10. Forget-me-nots were also a symbol used by Freemasons during the time when they were being persecuted by the Nazis. Masons had already been using the flower as a symbol and reminder not to forget the poor and needy, but when using their usual square and compass logo was too risky, they used forget-me-nots instead.

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