| 词源 |
columbine. In medieval times people thought the inverted white flower on this plant bore a resemblance to five doves or pigeons clustered together and it was given the name colum- bine from the Latin columba, “dove.” There are 60 known spe- cies of the genus Aquilegia comprising columbines, and the flowers’ horned nectaries were once symbols of cuckoldry. With a capital C, this is a reference to the most gruesome high school massacre in U.S. history. On April 20, 1999, two students rampaged through Columbine High School, killing 13 and wounding 23 others before committing suicide. |