Forget? Never!

Today, November 10th, is Forget-Me-Not Day.  There are 50 species of these sweet little flowers, but the True Forget Me Nots are myosotis scorpioides.  While they are budding they look like a scorpion's tail, or so some botanist with naming rights believed.  I myself can't quite see it.  Possibly he or she had been eating some plant with hallucinatory qualities.

There are several legends about the source of the popular name.  One German legend tells that when God named all the plants, one little flower that had not yet been named cried out "Forget me not, oh Lord."  And God said, "That shall be your name." 

Another legend says that a knight in shining armour bent over near a river to pick some of these flowers for his lady.  He fell into the river and could not get out because of ... all that armour.  He threw her the flowers and shouted "forget me not!" just before he drowned.

I think she was probably better off without that guy.  Sir What's His Name.