Myosotis laeta
Common names
Red Hills forget-me-not
Biostatus
Native – Endemic taxon
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Herbs - Dicotyledons other than Composites
Flower colours
White, Yellow
Detailed description
Dark reddish-green perennial herb. Rosette-leaves few, 20-50 × 5-9 mm, narrow-spathulate, apex acute, apiculate, basally attenuate, gradually tapering into winged petiole 10-45 mm long, followed by a broad sheathing base; hairs fine, silky, scarcely overlapping, appressed to spreading, distinctly retrorse on undersides, with the hairs of the leaf margins and sheathing leaf-base distinctly longer than those of the rest of the leaf. Lateral branches numerous, widely spreading, at first suberect, soon erect, up to 200 mm, internodes > leaves, with hairs fringing margins. Stem-leaves few, clearly distinct from rosette-leaves, c. 8 × 3 mm., narrow-oblong, sessile, acute; hairs fine and silky on upper surface, coarser and sparser on undersides, long and fringing on margin. Cymes simple, ebracteate, c.12-15-flowered, c.50-80 mm long; internodes> calyx in fruit; pedicels up to 4 mm long. Calyx 3-4 mm long, lobes > ½ length, narrow, subacute; hairs on lobes long, flexuous, basally in mixtures of shorter, appressed and longer hooked ones. Corolla white with a yellow eye, c.8-10 mm diameter, tube funnelform and c.5 mm long with scales set well above level of calyx-tips, lobes c.3.0 × 2.5 mm, ± oblong; filaments fixed about level of scales, > anthers and carrying them well above scales to level of lobes, anthers 1.1-1.3 mm long; style » calyx in fruit, stigma capitate. Nutlets ovoid, pale-brown.
Similar taxa
An ultramafic endemic known only from one site on the Red Hills, above the Wairau River, Marlborough. In the field it is easily distinguished from the only other common reddish coloured forget-me-not present in that area Myosotis monroi. That species has yellow not white flowers borne on compact rather than elongated inflorescences, and the leaf hairs are sparse, uniformly short, stiff and closely appressed, rather than fine and silky, and retrorse on the leaf undersides.
Distribution
Endemic. New Zealand: South Island (Red Hills)
Habitat
An ultramafic endemic confined to montane habitats where it grows in rock strewn ground amongst Chionochloa defracta tussock grassland and until recently at another site within a sparse kahikatoa (Leptospermum scoparium) shrubland.
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.
- 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 | Threatened – Nationally Endangered | Qualifiers: RR, RF
Threats
The only recently confirmed population occurs within habitat threatened to a degree through despoilation by 4-wheel drivers (this threat has been curbed to some extent by the erection of a vehicle barrier). Wilding pines are a major threat to the whole of the Red Hills. Potential threats include deer and goats though as yet there has been no evidence of browsing pressure on the Myosotis from these animals.
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Synonyms
None
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
December - February
Fruiting
December - April
Propagation technique
Difficult. Should not be removed from the wild.
Other information
Where To Buy
Not commercially available.
Etymology
myosotis: Mouse-eared
laeta: Happy or vivid
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.
MYOLAA
Chromosome number
2n = 46
Previous conservation statuses
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.
- 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.
2017 | Threatened – Nationally Endangered | Qualifiers: DP, RR, RF, St
2012 | Threatened – Nationally Endangered | Qualifiers: RR, St
2009 | Threatened – Nationally Critical | Qualifiers: DP, St
2004 | Range Restricted
Referencing and citations
Attribution
Fact Sheet prepared for NZPCN by P.J. de Lange (1 February 2008). Description based on herbarium specimens.
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Myosotis laeta Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/myosotis-laeta/ (Date website was queried)