Fern (Flowering) :: Birth Day Flower - May 10th :: Osmunda regalis
May 10th Birth Day Flower
Your birth day flower is the Flowering Fern, according to the Victorians, if you were born on the 10th May.
The flowering fern is associated with "Meditation".
The flowering fern is a member of the Osmundaceae Family - Osmunda regalis which is also known as the Royal Fern .
This is a large fern (up to 2ft high), native of Britain, Europe, North America, Mexico, South America and Asia. The 'flowers' are not flowers at all but are naked sporangia on modified fern fronds.
Ode to Meditation
Like the low murmur of the secret stream,
Which through dark alders winds its shaded way,
My suppliant voice is heard: ah! do not deem
That on vain toys I throw my hours away.
------------------------------------------
In the recesses of the forest vale,
On the wild mountain, on the verdant sod,
Where the fresh breezes of the morn prevail,
I wander lonely, communing with God.
-----
AIRD
Flowering Fern - Non-Flowering Fern
The Osmunda genus fern Osmunda regalis does not 'flower' it just looks as though it does.
It is a large plant that requires plenty of space to develop. Its stems are tall with broad leaf structures along their full length. The spore-bearing fronds expose themselves during summer and these are the 'flower-heads' that lead to the plant's common name. The autumn foliage is golden yellow but this should not be removed until the end of winter.
Osmunda regalis can be grown in full sun, unlike most ferns that prefer shade, as long as the soil is watered regulaly and does not dry out.
The RHS has awarded Osmunda regalis their prestigious Award of Garden Merit (AGM).
There are various cultivated forms:
- cristata - has finely-crested 'flower-heads'
- corymbifera - has forked and cested fronds
Other North American species of note, known as greenhouse specimens in Great Britain, are:
- Osmunda cinnamomea
- Osmunda claytoniana
May 10th - Major Events
On your birth day the following major events occurred:
- 1278 - English Jews imprisoned for coining
- 1291 - Edward 1 of England 'recognised' by Scottish nobles
- 1497 - Amerigo Vespucci sets sail on voyage that takes him to the New World
- 1503 - Columbus discovers the Cayman Islands
- 1655 - English capture Jamaica
- 1774 - Louis XVI becomes King of France
- 1837 - NYC banks fail causing 'Panic of 1837'
- 1857 - Indian Mutiny begins
- 1872 - Victoria Woodhull is 1st US Presidency nominee
- 1910 - Halley's comet at it's closest point to earth
- 1915 - Southend-on-Sea bombed by Zeppelin
- 1922 - Kingman Reef annexed by US
- 1924 - J Edgar Hoover becomes head of FBI
- 1933 - Paraguay declares war on Bolivia
- 1941 - Rudolf Hess parachutes into Scotland
- 1945 - Rangoon captured from the Japanese
- 1959 - Soviet forces into Afghanistan
- 1967 - Members of the Rolling Stones arrested
- 1978 - Liverpool wins 23rd European Cup (football)
- 1981 - Francois Mitterand becomes President of France
- 1994 - Nelson Mandela sworn in
- 1995 - UK lifts ban on talks with Sinn Fein
Birthday's on May 10th
You share your birth day with:
- 1265 - Emporer Fushimi
- 1838 - John Wilkes Booth
- 1841 - James Gordon Bennett
- 1920 - Bert Weedon
- 1933 - Barbara Taylor Bradford
- 1946 - Maureen Lipman
- 1946 - Donovan
- 1957 - Sid Vicious
- 1960 - Bono - Paul David Hewson
- 1960 - Merlene Ottey
- 1961 - Diarmui Gavin
- 1965 - Linda Evangelista
- 1966 - Jonathan Edwards
- 1968 - Al Murray
- 1977 - Nick Heidfeld
