Forget-Me-Not

Forget-me-nots make up the genus Myosotis, small annual and perennial herbs of the borage family. Their flat flowers have five petals, are seldom more than a centimetre across, and are most often blue, though pink, white and yellow ones occur, each with a yellow centre. The genus name comes from a Greek word for a mouse's ear, after the shape of the leaves. Most species belong to western Eurasia or New Zealand and like damp ground, but garden kinds have escaped into wetlands across the temperate world, helped by tiny seed pods that catch on passing clothing. Before the flowers open the stalk is coiled like a scorpion's tail, which gave the plant its English name of scorpion grass. Folklore counted it lucky in England and Europe and a guard against faery mischief, and in Germany it was a charm for finding hidden treasure; Grieve records an old belief that its juice would harden steel. It was planted on graves, and since the Middle Ages it has stood for faithful, lasting love, a meaning explained by a German tale of a knight swept away by the Danube who threw his lady a posy and called out the flower's name. Today it is the official flower of Alaska and a badge of remembrance, both for the war dead and for people living with dementia.