Remembering JFK with cornflowers

Species name: Centaurea cyanus

Common name: bachelor's button, cornflower

Location: picture 1 from HERE, picture 2 from HERE, picture 3 from HERE and picture 4 from HERE

Today is a rather special day in history, whether you're American or not, and this special day deserves its own special blog post. In case you aren't aware of the significance of today, it is the 50th anniversary of the assassination of the former President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, in Texas. He was one of the most well-liked Presidents in US history, and will always be remembered as one of the great young minds that died far too young. With that said, let's see how well I can weave this into a blog about plants.

The cornflower, also called the bachelor's button or the common cornflower, is native to Europe where it historically grew like a weed. It prefers highly disturbed areas like prairies (historically, the sustaining life source of a prairie was fire which wipes out much of the herbaceous growth, allowing new species to colonize the area), which is why it can sometimes be seen growing alongside the Flander's poppy, as seen in the fourth image above (I thought that was rather fitting, since both flowers are now considered the flowers of remembrance depending on which continent and/or country you're from). Unfortunately for the cornflower, it also thrives as an agricultural weed since agricultural fields are, by default, highly disturbed areas. They are plowed every year which encourages weedy plants (or plants that can grow very quickly) to move in and colonize the area. Because of the intense amount of herbicides that are applied to agricultural fields, many of the once-ideal habitats for cornflowers are now being lost. This has led to the placement of the cornflower onto many endangered species lists across much of its native range (the population in the UK has gone from 264 sites to just 3 sites in 50 years; also a rather fitting time of measurement). Fortunately for the cornflower, it's not about to go extinct any time soon. It has been introduced as an ornamental species in North America, and parts of Africa and Asia where it is considered a naturalized species (locally invasive in some areas). In Australia it is a pest species. In fact, because of the planting of this species ornamentally it was recently featured near the top of the list of the top 100 species that have the potential to be brought back from the brink of extinction. With proper rehabilitation efforts and the protection of prairie habitats across Europe, this species could once again thrive.

There are also some locations where cornflowers are planted for agricultural purposes aside from seed generation for the ornamental flower trade. Cornflower "petals" (I'll get into this in a minute) are dried and often used as an additive in loose leaf teas to impart flavour and colour into some blends. The flavour is very subtle; so subtle I doubt you would even be able to pick up the taste. More often than not, cornflowers are added to loose teas just to make them look pretty in their package. And who isn't about to buy tea because it looks pretty?! I'll admit, I've been guilty of that on more than one occasion. Sometimes with successful results, but often with "BLAAARRRRGGGGHHHHHH!!!!" results. That's also how I buy my wine. You'd think I would learn from these experiences...

The petals seen in the cornflower aren't really petals at all. The "flower" of a cornflower is a compound flower, or a flower head. Each one of the "petals" is called a ray floret, and each one of the dark purple wispy bits on the inside of the flower head is called a disc flower. This is the typical flower head (or inflorescence) structure of flowers in the aster or sunflower family.

Aside from being the flower of remembrance in the United Kingdom and much of the rest of Europe, cornflowers hold special meaning to JFK. Not only was blue his favourite colour, but on those days when he wore flowers on his lapel (which was quite often) they were always cornflowers. In fact, on the day his son, John F. Kennedy Jr., was married he had cornflowers pinned to his lapel and cornflowers were featured in the bridal bouquet and in every centrepiece as a symbol of remembrance for his father.

I often wonder what the world would be like today if people like JFK and Martin Luther King Jr. were still alive. Would gay marriage be an issue? Would it be a bigger issue than it is today? What about poverty and homelessness? Drug use? I guess it doesn't do much to hypothesize about how the world would be different, but instead try to make it different. Push the envelope to do better, to be better.

May you Rest In Peace, John Fitzgerald Kennedy. May 29, 1917 - November 22, 1963

President John F. Kennedy

JFK Jr. giving his father a final salute

BLOG RERUN: Today We Remember

(this blog post was originally published on November 11, 2012)

Species name: Papaver rhoeas

Common name: corn poppy, Flanders poppy

Location: picture 1 from 416-florist (click HERE), picture 2 from Wikipedia (click HERE), picture 3 from The Canadian War Museum (click HERE), picture 4 from the City of Toronto website (click HERE)

Today across much of the world is Remembrance Day, or Armistice Day, where we pause to remember the men and women who have sacrificed their lives for their country. The day was officially dedicated in 1919, and it was actually on November 7th, not November 11th. The date of remembrance was changed to reflect the signing of the Armistice by Germany at the end of World War I, which was somewhere between 5:12 and 5:20 am on November 11th 1918 (often referred to the "eleventh hour"). The war officially ended with the Treaty of Versailles on June 28th 1919.

The symbol of the poppy as the official flower of remembrance actually occurred as an "accident," as in it was not specifically chosen by anyone to represent war or remember lost soldiers. The corn poppy thrives in highly disturbed regions in Europe (where it grows like a weed), so it was one of the first plants to colonize battlegrounds. Poppies often bloom all at the same time, so entire fields will be bathed in brilliant red all at the same time. This image was made especially poignant by a Canadian physician for the army during World War I, Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae. He was present for a burial ceremony for one of his friends that died in the Second Battle of Ypres on May 2nd 1915. He wrote the poem "In Flanders Fields" from the back of an ambulance while thinking about how remarkable it was that the corn poppy was one of the first plants to grow over the graves of the dead. He thought they symbolically represented the blood shed by those soldiers fighting for freedom, and so penned one of the most famous pieces of poetry ever written. While the poppies in Flanders Field are long gone (they are not a persistent species by nature, but also that area is a pristinely maintained area commemorating the dead of World War I), they symbolically remain the flower of remembrance. John McCrae died of meningitis in Boulogne, France, on January 28th 1918. He would never return to Canada.

Today we pause to remember the men and women that have lost their lives fighting to protect their country, and to help others protect theirs. We thank them for making the ultimate sacrifice, as we know that without their actions the world would be very different form how it is today.

Lest we forget.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved, and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands, we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

Today We Remember

Species name: Papaver rhoeas

Common name: corn poppy, Flanders poppy

Location: picture 1 from 416-florist (click HERE), picture 2 from Wikipedia (click HERE), picture 3 from The Canadian War Museum (click HERE), picture 4 from the City of Toronto website (click HERE)

Today across much of the world is Remembrance Day, or Armistice Day, where we pause to remember the men and women who have sacrificed their lives for their country. The day was officially dedicated in 1919, and it was actually on November 7th, not November 11th. The date of remembrance was changed to reflect the signing of the Armistice by Germany at the end of World War I, which was somewhere between 5:12 and 5:20 am on November 11th 1918 (often referred to the "eleventh hour"). The war officially ended with the Treaty of Versailles on June 28th 1919.

The symbol of the poppy as the official flower of remembrance actually occurred as an "accident," as in it was not specifically chosen by anyone to represent war or remember lost soldiers. The corn poppy thrives in highly disturbed regions in Europe (where it grows like a weed), so it was one of the first plants to colonize battlegrounds. Poppies often bloom all at the same time, so entire fields will be bathed in brilliant red all at the same time. This image was made especially poignant by a Canadian physician for the army during World War I, Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae. He was present for a burial ceremony for one of his friends that died in the Second Battle of Ypres on May 2nd 1915. He wrote the poem "In Flanders Fields" from the back of an ambulance while thinking about how remarkable it was that the corn poppy was one of the first plants to grow over the graves of the dead. He thought they symbolically represented the blood shed by those soldiers fighting for freedom, and so penned one of the most famous pieces of poetry ever written. While the poppies in Flanders Field are long gone (they are not a persistent species by nature, but also that area is a pristinely maintained area commemorating the dead of World War I), they symbolically remain the flower of remembrance. John McCrae died of meningitis in Boulogne, France, on January 28th 1918. He would never return to Canada.

Today we pause to remember the men and women that have lost their lives fighting to protect their country, and to help others protect theirs. We thank them for making the ultimate sacrifice, as we know that without their actions the world would be very different form how it is today.

Lest we forget.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved, and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands, we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.