The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #4074   Message #3736695
Posted By: Taconicus
10-Sep-15 - 10:37 PM
Thread Name: Origins: Wildwood Flower / I'll Twine 'Mid the ...
Subject: Have I found the Wildwood Flower "Aronatus"?
Have I found the fabled, long-lost "aronatus" of the song?

Botanically a type of tulip, it's a (now) rare blue-eyed American wildflower with the scientific name "Humilis Alba Coerulea Oculata." I know of no other flower, let alone a wildflower, that matches the description. (Check the photo links below.)

"…and the pale aronatus with eyes of bright blue."

Humilis: small, humble, obscure.
Alba: white.
Coerulea: cerulean (azure, sky-blue).
Oculata: having eyes; catching the eye.

Humilis Alba Coerulea Oculata (photo)

Description from a seed catalog.