Myosotis discolor
Common name
grassland forget-me-not
Family
Boraginaceae
Flora category
Vascular – Exotic
Structural class
Herbs - Dicotyledons other than Composites
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.
MYODIS
Conservation status
Not applicable
Distribution
Naturalised (indigenous to Europe). North, South and Chatham Islands
Habitat
Open weedy ground, grassland, clay pans, dunes and stone strewn ground - especially common in those sites prone to drying out in late summer
Wetland plant indicator status rating
Information derived from the revised national wetland plant list prepared to assist councils in delineating and monitoring wetlands (Clarkson et al., 2021 Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research Contract Report LC3975 for Hawke’s Bay Regional Council). The national plant list categorises plants by the extent to which they are found in wetlands and not ‘drylands’. The indicator status ratings are OBL (obligate wetland), FACW (facultative wetland), FAC (facultative), FACU (facultative upland), and UPL (obligate upland).
FACU: Facultative Upland
Occasionally is a hydrophyte but usually occurs in uplands (non-wetlands).
Features
Annual dark green to purple-green or maroon herb with one to many, erect, hairy branches to c.250 mm high. Lower leaves shortly petiolate or subsessile, to c.50 × 10 mm, oblong to oblong-spathulate, densely covered in straight hairs; apex obtuse to acute; upper leaves similar but smaller. Cymes ebracteate, usually elongating to greater in length than the leafy part of stem after flowering. Pedicels always less than calyces in length. Calyx c.3 mm long at anthesis, elongating to 4-5 mm and becoming closed at fruiting; tube with spreading, hooked hairs; lobes cut to half calyx-length. Corolla limb 1.5-2.5 mm diameter, yellow or cream, becoming blue; lobes entire, concave. Style equal to or great than calyx. Nutlets 1.2-1.5 × 0.75-1 mm, ovoid, dark brown or black, with very narrow rim. Description based on: Webb et al. (1988).
Flowering
October - January
Flower colours
Cream, Yellow
Fruiting
December - April
Threats
Myosotis discolor is a naturalised weed in New Zealand. It was first recognised in New Zealand in 1879. Although it is an at times common weed of seasonally dry habitats (especially rough pasture and grassland) it is not regarded as a serious environmental weed. Its impacts (if any) on our indigenous ecosystems probably happened a long time ago in the early stages of its naturalisation.
Year naturalised
1879
Origin
Europe
Etymology
myosotis: Mouse-eared
discolor: Two colours or of different colours; from the latin dis and color; different colours of the leaf surfaces
Attribution
Fact Sheet prepared for NZPCN by P.J. de Lange 1 February 2008. Description based on Webb et al. (1988)
References and further reading
Webb CJ, Sykes WR, Garnock-Jones PJ 1988. Flora of New Zealand. Vol. IV. Botany Division, DSIR, Christchurch.
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Myosotis discolor Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/myosotis-discolor/ (Date website was queried)