The True or Water Forget-Me-Not (Myosotis scorpioides) is a small but enchanting perennial in the Boraginaceae that produces clusters of brilliant sky-blue flowers with tiny yellow eyes along stream banks and in wet meadows across Europe. Possessing one of the most evocative common names in the plant kingdom, the Forget-Me-Not has been a symbol of faithful love and remembrance in European folklore for centuries — a tiny blue flower that carries an outsized emotional weight.
• One of the few wildflowers that produces a true, clear sky-blue color — most "blue" flowers are actually purple or violet
• The common name is associated with a medieval German legend in which a knight, picking the flower for his lady, fell into a river and called out "Vergiss mein nicht!" (forget me not!) as he drowned
• The genus name Myosotis means "mouse ear" in Greek, referring to the small, rounded, fuzzy leaves
• The species epithet "scorpioides" means "scorpion-like," describing the coiled, curving shape of the young flower cluster
• In 1949, the Forget-Me-Not was adopted as the emblem of Freemasons who had been persecuted under the Nazi regime
• The Alaska State Flower is a related species, Myosotis alpestris
분류학
• Found throughout Europe from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean and from the British Isles to western Russia
• Also occurs in northern Africa and western Asia
• Grows in wet habitats: stream banks, marshes, wet meadows, ditches, and pond margins
• Has been cultivated in European gardens since the 15th century
• First described by Linnaeus in 1753
• The genus Myosotis contains approximately 50 to 70 species, found worldwide
• Naturalized in parts of North America and Australasia
Stems:
• Erect to ascending or creeping, slender, often rooting at the lower nodes
• Green to reddish, covered with spreading hairs
Leaves:
• Basal leaves oblong to spatulate, 2 to 8 cm long, forming a rosette
• Stem leaves smaller, alternate, lanceolate to oblong, sessile
• Bright green, softly hairy, with a distinctive "mouse ear" texture
Flowers:
• Small, 6 to 10 mm across, sky-blue with a tiny yellow or white eye
• 5 rounded petals, fused at the base into a short tube
• Arranged in small, one-sided, coiled cymes that uncurl as flowers open
• 5 stamens with yellow anthers
• Blooms May to October
Fruit:
• Small, glossy, black nutlets, 1 to 2 mm, smooth and shiny
• Found along stream banks, pond edges, marshes, wet meadows, ditches, and damp woodland
• Often grows with its roots in running water
• Prefers partial shade to full sun
• Flowers are visited by bees, flies, and small butterflies
• Provides habitat for small aquatic invertebrates along stream margins
• Can grow semi-aquatically, tolerating shallow water
• The coiled flower stalk uncurls as flowers open, presenting new blooms over many weeks
• Sow seeds in spring or autumn in moist, humus-rich soil
• Prefers partial shade to full sun
• Requires consistently moist to wet soil — ideal for water garden edges
• Can be placed in shallow water up to 5 cm deep
• Space plants 15 to 20 cm apart
• Self-seeds freely in favorable conditions
• Short-lived perennial but persists through self-seeding
• Hardy to approximately -30°C (USDA Zone 4)
재미있는 사실
The Forget-Me-Not was chosen as the secret flower of Freemasonry in 1949 as a symbol of resistance against the Nazi regime. During World War II, German Freemasons wore small Forget-Me-Not pins instead of traditional Masonic symbols to identify each other without risk of detection. After the war, the flower became the official emblem of the Grand Lodge of Germany, and Forget-Me-Not pins are still worn by Freemasons worldwide as a reminder of those who maintained their principles under persecution.
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