Ovid recorded some flower myths in the Metamorphoses, the most famous being Narcissus, the lovely white flower which grows by ponds. In Book IV, Ovid tells the story of Leucothoe who falls in love with the sun. This arouses the jealousy of Clytie who also yearns for the warm embrace of the sun. Leucothoe is buried alive by her father as a consequence of Sol's seduction. The sun hearing her cries from the earth had mercy on her, but could not bring her back to life. To reduce her agony, he tansformed her to a a sweet smelling tree, the Boswellian but her name is transferred to the genus of daisies that litter the meadows in spring-the ox-eyed daisy.
Clytie however, for her wagging tongue, was disdained by the sun and wilted away to become a flower that ever turns its face in yearning to the sun, the heliotrope. But the myth brings an array of gardener's confusion for identification for the sunflower, the marigold and violet and valerian are all associated to this myth as well as the members of the borage family. The helicanthe, the giant sunflower used for birdseed and oils, is a North American native and so adds further confusion to interpretation of the myth.
Moeover, the flower not mentioned in the various seductions of Apollo and Helios/Sol is the dandelion which is known the world around for its golden mane. Not known the origin of the French etymology, the name was always easy for kids to remember as Dandy Lion. The flower is associated to St Francis because it blooms twice and the more you try to stomp it out, the more it flourishes. It is also valuable herbal, providing greens for salads. each part of the flower can be used. The roots have been used to make an ersatz coffee and the flowers are used by Central Europeans to make a fine honey and wine.
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