Forget-Me-Not, our March Calendar Flower

Forget-Me-Not, Myosotis

George took this image in spring 1983, at Walden Pond in Concord , MA. George loved Emerson’s journal, “Walden Pond” and was excited to explore the area. New England held many flower species George wasn’t accustomed to seeing in California!

The common name, Forget-Me-Not, for me conjures up romantic images of ‘lost love’. In my google search, I found that the name is credited to a German legend from the word, ‘Vergissmeinnicht’, meaning, “Forget me not, Lord”. When God was finished naming the flowers, the last flower cried out, “forget me not, Lord!”. And God - perhaps being tired from all that flower naming- replied, that shall be your name, so you will never be forgotten!

I’ve included this close up of the Forget-Me-Not, to illustrate this tiny flower’s amazing self-promotion. Only 1/4” in diameter, these flowers have to be able to attract pollinators. Bees particularly are attracted to Forget-Me-Nots. What brings them in? For starters, the white ‘landing strips’ of white lead the bees to the source. Then there is the brilliant yellow center housing the flower’s stigma, stamen, and nectar. A botanic advertising billboard for successful pollination!

From Janet Davis’, website I learned a fascinating tidbit about the Forget-Me-Nots pollination strategy. After the flower has been pollinated, the bright yellow center turns beige, signaling the bees, don’t bother visiting, “this nectar bar is closed”! Nature, WOW!