2010 Love stamp – Purple Orchid – 44 cents

The pansy has been associated with love since ancient times. Its name comes from the French word pense, meaning “thought,” and is named for the flower’s resemblance to a human face. In many cultures around the world, pansies are believed to inspire thoughts of loved ones and even heal broken hearts.

According to Greek legend, the god of love Eros (known as Cupid in Roman mythology) once shot a love arrow at a young woman, but missed and instead hit a flower, turning it purple and causing it to smile. English playwright William Shakespeare referenced this myth in his play A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In his story, mischievous forest fairies make a love potion that causes the characters to fall in love using the lazy love plant, which was “formerly milky white, but now purple with the wounds of love.”

An old German legend claims that the pansy once exuded such a sweet scent that people traveled thousands of miles just to smell it. However, in doing so, they trampled the surrounding vegetation, leaving no fodder for cattle and no food for humans. So the pansy prayed to God, who removed its smell and turned it into the beautiful flower it is today.

In England, the legendary Knights of the Round Table once visited a fortune teller to use the pansy to predict their love future. The knights would be happy when the pansy had no more than seven wrinkles on its face. Because then the flower foreshadowed good luck in love.