Myosotis monroi Cheeseman
Type locality: Dun Mountain. Type: A, 7546, T.F.C. A few specimens from Mt. Arthur plateau match Dun Mountain specimens very closely; those seen from Red Hills, Wairau Valley (A 7545, Cheeseman and W 2352, W. Martin) differ in broader petioles and longer ± spreading hairs; no other occurrences are known.
Rosette-lvs c. 4 × 0·4 cm., spathulate, petiole narrow and c. = lamina-length, tip obtuse or apiculate; hairs short, straight, appressed, not overlapping, almost lacking on undersurface. Lateral branches ascending to erect, c. 8-10-(15) cm. long, Ifless below cyme, lower internodes < lvs. Stem-lvs c. 15 × 3 mm., narrow-elliptic, subacute, ± sessile; hairs on upper surface longer and softer than on rosette-lvs, on margins long, on undersurface few, stiff and short. Cymes us. forked, ebracteate, many-fld, 1-2 cm. long, internodes and pedicels very short. Calyx c. 5 mm. long, lobes c. 1/2 length, rather broad and subacute; hairs on lobes stiff, straight and sparse, towards base a few long and hooked, many very short, straight, appressed. Corolla yellow, almost salverform, c. 6 mm. diam., tube c. 5 mm. long, flaring slightly at mouth, where scales are narrow and raised, lobes spreading, up to 3 mm. long, narrow-oval; filaments long and conspicuous, standing well above corolla, anthers c. 1 mm. long, versatile; style c. 2 × calyx in fr., stigma capitate. Nutlets?
DIST.: S. Nelson mountains. Fellfield.
FL. 11-12-(4). FT. 2-3-(4).
In the absence of the distinctive fls M. monroi can best be distinguished from M. angustata by spathulate rosette-lvs which are almost glab. on undersurface and contrast rather strongly with the linear stem-lvs, and by the widely-spaced short stiff If-hairs; calyx characters of these two spp. are very similar and offer no good distinction in old fr.
