Myosotis scorpioides L.
water forget-me-not
Stoloniferous perennial, often short-lived. Stems decumbent or erect, ascending to c. 45 cm, ± hairy. Lower lvs almost sessile, to 10 × 2 cm, oblong to oblong-lanceolate, clothed in appressed hairs, especially above; apex usually obtuse. Upper lvs smaller and narrower. Cymes ebracteate, elongating greatly after flowering. Pedicels becoming 1-2× length of calyx at fruiting. Calyx 1.5-3 mm long at anthesis, clothed in straight appressed hairs; teeth accrescent, ± triangular, c. ⅓ length of calyx tube at anthesis. Corolla limb 5-10 mm diam., flat, blue with yellowish throat; lobes emarginate. Style ± = calyx tube. Nutlets 1.2-1.6 × 1-1.2 mm, ovoid, obtuse, glossy black or dark brown, with narrow rim.
N.; S.
Europe 1878
Common in wet places in all areas.
FL Nov-May.
Allan (1940) recorded 2 vars: var. strigulosa (Reichb.) Mert. et Koch (now sometimes accorded specific rank) with appressed hairs on stems and lvs, stems which are not angular, and subacute lvs, and var. palustris Hill with stems and lvs with spreading hairs, angular stems, and blunt lvs. In N.Z. it is often not possible to distinguish 2 vars on these characters.
This sp. is the most commonly cultivated forget-me-not in many countries, but in N.Z. M. sylvatica is the usual cultivated forget-me-not. In N.Z., M. scorpioides has often been confused with the related aquatic M. laxa subsp. caespitosa and vegetative parts of the 2 taxa are extremely difficult to distinguish. However, 2 characters considered together, the ratio of calyx lobes to tube length and the diam. of corolla limb, separate them clearly. M. scorpioides has been previously known in N.Z. as M. palustris.
