Forget-me-not

Forget Me Not

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Forget-me-not

Myosotis (Greek: "mouse's ear", from leaf) is a genus

Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
of flowering plant

Flowering plant

The flowering plants or angiosperms are the most widespread group of Embryophytes. The flowering plants and the gymnosperms are the only extant groups of Spermatophyte....
s in the family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
Boraginaceae

Boraginaceae

Boraginaceae Juss. 1789, the Borage or Forget-me-not family, includes a variety of shrubs, trees, and herbs, totaling about 2,000 species in 100 genus found worldwide....
that are commonly called Forget-me-nots. Its common name was calque

Calque

In linguistics, a calque or loan translation is a word or phrase borrowed from another language by literal, word-for-word or root-for-root translation....
d from the French, "ne m'oubliez pas" and first used in English in c.1532. Similar names and variations are found in many languages.

e are approximately fifty species

Species

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Encyclopedia

Myosotis (Greek: "mouse's ear", from leaf) is a genus

Genus

Flowering plant

The flowering plants or angiosperms are the most widespread group of Embryophytes. The flowering plants and the gymnosperms are the only extant groups of Spermatophyte....
s in the family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
Boraginaceae

Boraginaceae

Calque

Description

There are approximately fifty species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring....
in the genus, with much variation. A considerable number of the species have small (1 cm diameter or less) rather flat, 5-petalled blue flowers growing profusely on straggly stems

Plant stem

A stem is one of two main structural axes of a vascular plant. The stem is normally divided into nodes and internodes, the nodes hold buds which grow into one or more leaf, inflorescence , conifer cones or other stems etc....
, flowering in spring. Color

Color

Color or colour is the visual perception property corresponding in humans to the categories called red, yellow, blue and others....
variation is somewhat frequent within species, and white or pink forms are common. They are popular in garden

Gardening

Gardening is the practice of growing ornamental or useful plants. Ornamental plants are normally grown for their flowers, foliage, or overall appearance....
s, and cultivated forms often show a mixture of colours. Forget-me-nots prefer shade.

Forget-me-nots can be annual

Annual plant

An annual plant is a plant that usually germinates flowers and dies in one year. True annuals will only live longer than a year if they are prevented from setting seed....
or perennial plant

Perennial plant

A perennial plant or perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. When used by gardeners or horticulturalists, this term applies specifically to perennial herbaceous plants....
s. Their root systems

Root

In vascular plants, the root is the organ of a plant body that typically lies below the surface of the soil. This is not always the case, however, since a root can also be aerial root or aerating ....
are generally diffuse. Their seed

Seed

A seed is a small Plant embryogenesis plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some Food storage. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant....
s are found in small, tulip-shaped pods along the stem to the flower. The pods attach to clothing when brushed against and eventually fall off, leaving the small seed within the pod to germinate

Germination

Germination is the process whereby growth emerges from a period of dormancy. The most common example of germination is the sprouting of a seedling from a seed of an flowering plant or gymnosperm....
elsewhere. Seeds can be collected by putting a piece of paper under the stems and shaking them. The seed pods and some seeds will fall out.

They are widely distributed. Most Myosotis species are endemic to New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous Islands of New Zealand, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands....
, though one or two Europe

Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
an species, especially the Wood Forget-me-not, Myosotis sylvatica have been introduced

Introduced species

A species is defined as introduced in a certain geographical area, if that area is outside the species' indigenous distributional range, and the species has arrived there by human activity....
in most of the temperate regions of Europe, Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and, with over 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population....
and America

Americas

The Americas are the region of the Western hemisphere that consists of the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions....
. Myosotis scorpioides is also known as scorpion grass.

In the United States of America, Myosotis alpestris

Myosotis alpestris

Myosotis alpestris or Alpine Forget-me-not is a herbaceous perennial plant of the genus Myosotis.The Alpine Forget-me-not is the County flowers of the United Kingdom of Westmorland in the United Kingdom and the List of U.S....
is the state flower

List of U.S. state flowers

This is a list of U.S. state flowers:See also*List of U.S. state trees*Lists of U.S. state insigniaReferences *...
of Alaska

Alaska

Alaska is the largest U.S. state of the United States by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait....
. Forget-me-nots are used as food plants by the larva

Larva

A larva is a young form of animal with indirect developmental biology, going through or undergoing metamorphosis .The larva can look completely different from the adult form, for example, a caterpillar differs from a butterfly....
e of some Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera is an order of insect that includes moths and butterfly. It is one of the most speciose orders in the class Insecta, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterfly, skipper , and Hedylidae....
species including Setaceous Hebrew Character

Setaceous Hebrew Character

The Setaceous Hebrew Character is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is a common species throughout Europe.The forewings of this species are reddish brown with distinctive patterning towards the base: a black mark resembling the Hebrew language letter Nun : ? with a pale cream coloure...

Folklore and legend

In a German legend, God named all the plants when a tiny unnamed one cried out, "Forget-me-not, O Lord!" God replied, "That shall be your name." In another legend, the little flower cried out, "Forget-me-not!" as Adam and Eve left the Garden of Eden

Garden of Eden

The Garden of Eden is a location described in the Book of Genesis as being the place where the first man, Adam , and his wife, Eve , lived after they were created by God....
.

The Christ Child

Child Jesus

The Child Jesus, or Divine Infant, represents the infant Jesus until to the age of twelve. At thirteen he was considered to have become adult, in accordance with both the Jewish custom of his own time, and that of most Christian cultures until recent centuries....
was sitting on Mary

Mary (mother of Jesus)

Mary , usually referred to by Christians as Saint Mary, the Virgin Mary, Holy Mary or the Madonna, was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee, identified in the New Testament as the mother of Jesus of Nazareth....
's lap one day and said that he wished that future generations could see her eyes. He touched her eyes and then waved his hand over the ground and blue forget-me-nots appeared, hence the name forget-me-not.

Henry IV

Henry IV of England

Henry IV was King of England and Lord of Ireland . Like other kings of England, he also claimed the title of King of France. He was born at Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, hence the other name by which he was known, Henry Bolingbroke....
adopted the flower as his symbol during his exile in 1398, and retained the symbol upon his return to England the following year.

In the 15th century Germany, it was supposed that the wearers of the flower would not be forgotten by their lovers.

Legend has it that in medieval times, a knight and his lady were walking along the side of a river. He picked a posy of flowers, but because of the weight of his armour he fell into the river. As he was drowning he threw the posy to his loved one and shouted "Forget-me-not". This is a flower connected with romance and tragic fate. It was often worn by ladies as a sign of faithfulness and enduring love. Most people use these in weddings for love.

Selected species

Myosotis alpina
Myosotis australis
Myosotis azorica
Myosotis caespitosa, or Tufted Forget-me-not
Myosotis colensoi
Myosotis decumbens
Myosotis decumbens

Myosotis decumbens is a plant species of the genus Myosotis....
Myosotis nemorosa
Myosotis nemorosa

Myosotis nemorosa synonymy Myosotis strigulosa is a plant species of the genus Myosotis....
Myosotis secunda, or Creeping Forget-me-not
Myosotis sicula, or Jersey Forget-me-not

Gallery

In popular culture

Literature

Henry David Thoreau

Henry David Thoreau was an United States author, poet, Natural history, tax resistance, development criticism, surveyor, historian, philosophy, and leading Transcendentalism....
wrote, "The mouse-ear forget-me-not, Myosotis laxa, has now extended its racemes very much, and hangs over the edge of the brook. It is one of the most interesting minute flowers. It is the more beautiful for being small and unpretending; even flowers must be modest."

In Evangeline
Evangeline

Evangeline, A Tale of Acadie is a poem published in 1847 by the United States poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The poem follows an Acadian girl named Evangeline and her search for her lost love Gabriel, set during the time of the Great Upheaval....
, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was an United States educator and poet whose works include "Paul Revere's Ride ", The Song of Hiawatha, and "Evangeline"....
wrote,

Silently, one by one, in the infinite meadows of Heaven,

Blossom the lovely stars, the forget-me-nots of the angels.

In his 1947 long poem "Notes Toward a Supreme Fiction," Wallace Stevens

Wallace Stevens

Wallace Stevens was a United States Modernism poet. He was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, and spent most of his life working for an insurance company in Connecticut....
mentions the forget-me-not, using its scientific Greek-derived name:

...It observes the effortless weather turning blue

And sees the myosotis on its bush."

In the popular series [Harry Potter], [J.K. Rowling] frequently attributes nature and objects, generally attire, with the color "forget-me-not-blue"

Organizations
In 1948 the little blue Forget Me Not flower, or badge, was adopted as a Masonic emblem at the first Annual Convention of the United Grand Lodges of Germany, Ancient Free & Accepted Masons. The flower, or badge, is now universally worn as a Masonic emblem in the coat lapel to remember all those that have suffered in the name of Freemasonry

Freemasonry

Freemasonry is a fraternal and service organizations that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around 5 million ....
, and specifically those during the Nazi era.

The forget-me-not is a traditional symbol of Alpha Phi

Alpha Phi

Alpha Phi is a fraternities and sororities for women founded at Syracuse University on September 18, 1872. Its celebrated Founder's Day is October 10....
International Fraternity, the fourth Greek-lettered sorority for women, founded at Syracuse University

Syracuse University

Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, New York. It was founded as a university in 1870, but its roots can be traced back to a seminary founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832 which eventually became Genesee College....
in 1872. The flower is also a symbol of Alpha Phi Omega

Alpha Phi Omega

Alpha Phi Omega is the largest collegiate fraternity in the United States, with chapters at over 350 campuses, an active membership of approximately 17,000 students, and over 350,000 alumni members....
National Service Fraternity, which was founded in 1925 at Lafayette College

Lafayette College

Lafayette College is a private school coeducational Liberal arts colleges in the United States located in Easton, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, United States....
in Easton, Pennsylvania.

The Alzheimer Society of Canada's symbol is the forget-me-not flower. The symbol represents memory loss - one of the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease.

In Canada, Forget-me-nots are traditionally worn by Newfoundlanders on July 1 in remembrance of those Newfoundlanders who died during the First World War. July 1 was chosen because of the high number of casualties suffered by the Royal Newfoundland Regiment on 1 July 1916 during the Battle of the Somme.

Songs

The Forget-me-not is mentioned in Patrice Rushen

Patrice Rushen

Patrice Louise Rushen is a Grammy Award winning American R&B singer, songwriter, composer, and pianist....
's "Forget Me Nots

Forget Me Nots

'"Forget Me Nots"' is a 1982 hit parade recording by R&B singer songwriter Patrice Rushen.Originally deemed by record label executives as a "flop", Rushen bravely released the song and to her better judgement, the song became a Billboard Hot 100 pop, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs R&B, and Hot Dance Music/Club Play dance hit on the Billboard maga...
," Saves the Day

Saves the Day

Saves the Day is an american band that was formed in 1997 in Princeton, New Jersey. They have released 6 studio albums, 4 EP's and a compilation album....
's "Holly Hox, Forget Me Nots," Green Day

Green Day

Green Day is an American Rock music trio formed in 1987. The band has consisted of Billie Joe Armstrong , Mike Dirnt , and Tr? Cool for the majority of its existence....
's "Are We The Waiting," Eisbrecher

Eisbrecher

Eisbrecher [] is a Germany rock music/electronic music band that consists primarily of Alexx Wesselsky and Noel Pix , with live support of J?rgen Plangger , Olli Pohl , Ren? Greil , and Max "Maximator" Schauer ....
's "Vergissmeinnicht," Josef Myrow

Josef Myrow

Josef Myrow was a Russian-born composer known for his work in film scores in the 1940s and 50s. He was nominated for an Academy Award twice: in 1947 for the song "You Do " from the film Mother Wore Tights and in 1950 for "Wilhelmina " from the film Wabash Avenue....
/Mack Gordon

Mack Gordon

Mack Gordon was an United States composer and lyricist of songs for musical theatre and musical film. He was nominated for the best original song Academy Awards nine times, including six consecutive years between 1940 and 1945, and won the award once, for "You'll Never Know"....
s "You make me feel so young" and in the classic "Once Upon a Summertime" by Eddie Barclay

Eddie Barclay

Eddie Barclay was a France music Record producer whose singers included Jacques Brel and Charles Aznavour. He founded Barclay Records....
, Michel Legrand

Michel Legrand

Michel Legrand is a France musical composer, arranger, conductor, and pianist of Armenians descent.Legrand has composed more than two hundred film and television scores, several musicals, and made well over a hundred albums....
, Eddy Marnay

Eddy Marnay

Eddy Marnay was an Algerian born songwriter. In his career, he wrote more than 100 songs, including works for Edith Piaf and C?line Dion. He also wrote the title song for Charlie Chaplin's 1957 film A King in New York....
, Johnny Mercer

Johnny Mercer

John Herndon "Johnny" Mercer was an American songwriter and singer. As a songwriter, he is best known as a lyricist, but he also composed music....
. Also, "Forget Me Nots", written by Elana James, is featured on The Hot Club of Cowtown's 2002 album "Ghost Town".

Television

Fifi Forget-me-not, an anthropomorphic forget-me-not, is the main protagonist of the childrens TV show Fifi and the Flowertots.