A - Z Challenge - L

Linaria vulgaris. Loyal.

 The distinctive flowers of this dense-spiked Linaria plant resemble bright yellow snapdragons with an orange centre. Toadflax grows in hedgebanks, waste places and sunny slopes. The old medicinal herb is still used to some extent today in the treatment of jaundice and other liver diseased, dropsy and skin sores and ulcers. Its name comes from the once common presence as a weed of flax. Called 'Krotenflacks' in Germany, this was translated as Toadflax.

The definition of loyal: Steadfast in allegiance to one's homeland, government, or sovereign. Faithful to a person, ideal, custom, cause, or duty. I read a news item last month about a loyal dog, who returned alone every day to the church where he used to attend with his owner. He sat there patiently, waiting for her to return, even attending her funeral. The priest, who had recently lost a dog of his own, allowed the German Shepherd to sit quietly beside the pulpit until the service was over, then let him out.

Proverb: Laugh and the world laughs with you, weep and you weep alone.