Forget-me-not

Forget-me-not (the name is accounted for by various legends) is Myosotis palustris; but the term has spread to the larger-flowered species, and indeed to all the members of the species — practically superseding the more prosaic title of Scorpion-grass, derived from the inflorescence so characteristic of the Boraginaceæ, and also that of Mouse-ear, from the hairy leaves. M. silvatica, the wood forget-me-not, the Alpine M. alpestris, and among exotic species M. azorica, are specially worthy of cultivation. M. versicolor, a common weed, is remarkable for the change of colour in its flowers, which not only show the change from red to blue in opening so common in the order, but begin with a distinct yellow. By the doctrine of Signatures (q.v.), Myosotis was like a scorpion's tail, and therefore good for scorpion bites. The newer name came from Germany, and was so little known in England in 1800 that to 'Hope's gentle gem, the sweet forget-me-not' Coleridge appended a note explaining what plant he meant.