Myosotis australis
Biostatus
Native – Endemic taxon
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Herbs - Dicotyledons other than Composites
Flower colours
White, Yellow
Detailed description
Gracile, tufted, perennial herb. Rosette usually single, leaves spathulate or lamina elliptic, 20-60 × 4-12 mm, tip rounded and ± mucronate, petiole , more less equal to lamina-length, narrow but ill-defined; hairs on upper surface spreading, uniform, fine, crowded, often hooked, on undersurface sparser, shorter, retrorse. Lateral branches ascending or erect (not rooting from nodes), few to many, up to 300 mm long, internodes usually equal to or greater than leaves. Upper stem-leaves sessile, spathulate to oblong, mostly 10-15 mm long, tip subacute; hairs on upper surface silky, ± appressed, overlapping, on undersurface sparser, shorter, irregularly arranged. Cymes mostly ebracteate, except sometimes towards base, mostly simple and terminal, either on primary laterals or on secondary laterals arising from axils of stem-leaves; internodes between fruits greater than calyx; pedicels very short. Calyx c. 4 mm long, lobes cut for greater than half calyx length, narrow, subacute; hairs long and straight towards tips, shorter and hooked towards base, with very short sparse hairs overall. Corolla white or yellow, tube equal to or greater in length of calyx, widest at top, lobes rounded, concave; filaments very short, fixed below scales, anther-tips barely reaching scales; style more or less equal to tube length in flower. Nutlet 1.4-2.1 × 0.8-1.0 mm, ovate to ovate-elliptic, black.
Similar taxa
Even with the change in rank for Myosotis australis var. lytteltonensis (see de Lange et al. 2010), the remaining members of the Myosotis australis complex are in serious need ot revision. Collectively these entities, unified here as Myosotis australis sensu lato can be recognised by the calyx which is 3-6 mm long and deeply lobed, and clad with numerous hooked (uncinate) hairs, and by the anther-tips not projecting above the scales. That said distinct entities can be recognised of which the most common entity is the yellow-flowered plant illustrated on this fact sheet and often known as Myosotis “australis yellow”, other entities included within M. australis have white flowers, and include M. saxatilis Petrie and M. “australis small white”. There is good evidence that all of these warrant elevation to species rank. However, to do so would at this stage be premature until a full comparison with the type of M. australis (which is Australian) is undertaken along with the critical examination of the range of variation in Australian M. australis. Further, there are other small, white-flowered plants present in Central Otago that might be palced within M. australis, and these too require careful study.
Distribution
?Indigenous. North and South Islands.
Habitat
Montane to alpine. Mostly grassland, cliffs and other open rocky and stony places
Current conservation status
The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2022-2023 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS) – more information about this can be found on the NZTCS website. This report includes replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Previous assessments can be found here.
Please note, threat classifications are often suggested by authors when publications fall between NZTCS assessment periods – these interim threat classification statuses has not been assessed by the NZTCS panel.
- Conservation status of vascular plants in Aotearoa New Zealand, 2023. 2024. Peter J. de Lange, Jane Gosden, Shannel P. Courtney, Alexander J. Fergus, John W. Barkla, Sarah M. Beadel, Paul D. Champion, Rowan Hindmarsh-Walls, Troy Makan and Pascale Michel Department of Conservation. Source: NZTCS and licensed by DOC for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence.
2023 | Not Assessed | Qualifiers: SO
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Boraginaceae
Synonyms
Myosotis australis var. conspicua Cheeseman, Myosotis saxatilis Petrie
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
October - March
Fruiting
December - May
Propagation technique
Easily grown from fresh seed and in ideal conditions will freely self sow in gardens, However, along with most other indigenous Myosotis, members of the M. australis complex are prone to mildew and rust infections. They also dislike humid climates.
Other information
Where To Buy
Not commercially available
Etymology
myosotis: Mouse-eared
australis: Southern
NVS code
The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.
MYOAUS
Previous conservation statuses
2017 | Not Threatened | Qualifiers: SO
2012 | Not Threatened
2009 | Not Threatened
2004 | Not Threatened
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Allan, H.H. 1961: Flora of New Zealand. Vol. I. Goverment Printer, Wellington.
de Lange, P.J.; Heenan, P.B.; Norton, D.A.; Rolfe, J.R.; Sawyer, J.W.D. 2010: Threatened Plants of New Zealand. Canterbury University Press, Christchurch.
Attribution
Fact Sheet prepared for NZPCN by P.J. de Lange 1 February 2008. Description based on Allan (1961).
Some of this factsheet information is derived from Flora of New Zealand Online and is used under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 New Zealand licence.
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Myosotis australis Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/myosotis-australis/ (Date website was queried)