Myosotis pansa subsp. pansa
Common names
forget-me-not
Biostatus
Native
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Herbs - Dicotyledons other than Composites
Flower colours
White
Detailed description
Stout, robust to weakly erect plants up to 250 x 250 mm. Rosettes and laterals often greatly elongated. Petiole long and narrowly winged up to 30 x 5 mm, margins fringed by long spreading hairs. Rosette-leaves variable in size and shape, up to 40 x 35 mm, bright lettuce green, green, dark-green or bronze-green, sometimes suffused with red, orbicular to broadly elliptic or elliptic, apex rounded or retuse, usually finely apiculate, base obtuse to broadly attenuate; both leaf surfaces sparsely covered in widely spaced, short, straight, stiff, more or less appressed hairs. Lateral branches few- to many, 60-500 mm long, weakly erect to flaccid, very leafy, often rooting on contact with soil; internode length variable, usually approximating leaf length. Stem leaves broadly elliptic, elliptic to ovate, at first petiolate, becoming sessile toward lateral apex, hairs as for rosette-leaves, though more closely appressed near lamina margin. Inflorescence cymose, cymes simple, without bracts, many-flowered, 40-160 mm, internodes 4-8 mm. Pedicels 4-10 mm long. Calyx 4-6 mm, cut almost to base, lobes 3-5 mm long, narrowly lanceolate, subacute to acute, spreading at fruiting. Flowers white. Corolla 9-16 mm diameter, lobes 6-8 mm, broad-oblong to oblong, obtuse or rounded, spreading, corolla tube 1.5-2 x 2.5-4 mm, wider than long, funnelform, scales placed well below calyx lobe apices, stamens 1.2-2(-3) mm long, style 1.5-3.5 mm, stigma capitate. Nutlets 1.5-1.9 x 1.2-1.4 mm, black, glossy, ovate to broadly ovate.
Similar taxa
Myosotis forsteri, and M. venosa are vegetatively similar species. However, these species do not naturally occur in the narrow coastal zone that M. pansa occupies. M. forsteri differs from M. pansa by the anthers which are placed below the corolla-scales. M. venosa differs by the calyx lobes which are cut to about 1/2 the calyx length, rather broad and distinctly ribbed, and by the leaf hairs which are flexuose, never retrorse. M. pottsiana is rather similar, but this is a rheophytic species that occurs on vertical rock walls in river gorges only in the eastern Bay of Plenty. Vegetatively M. pansa differs from M. pottsiana by the flowers whose corolla tube is wider than long, funnelform, and by the corolla-scales with are placed at or near the calyx-tips. Myosotis pansa subsp. pansa is distinguished from subsp. praeceps by the ebracteate inflorescences (with the the cauline leaves present proximally up to the base of the inflorescence only, not subtending or alternating with the flowers more distally) (Meudt et al. 2013).
Distribution
Endemic to the Waitakere coastline, western North Island from Muriwai Beach to Waterfall Bay
Habitat
Open, coastal forest, scrub or flaxland, or amongst ferns and low grasses, in semi-shaded sites, on banks, cliffs, ledges and colluvial slopes directly above the sea. Occasionally found up to 300 m inland from the sea.
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 | Threatened – Nationally Critical | Qualifiers: Sp, DPS, DPT, PF, RR
Threats
Loss of habitat through coastal development; susceptible to goat, deer and pig impacts; competition from weeds, especially Mexican daisy (Erigeron karvinskianus) and Mexican devil (Ageratina adenophora)
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Boraginaceae
Synonyms
Myosotis petiolata var. pansa L.B.Moore
Endemic taxon
Yes
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Flowering
September - February
Fruiting
November - July
Propagation technique
An attractive and easily grown native forget-me-not. It grows well in a moist but free draining soil, and can tolerate open sunny conditions or semi-shade. Fresh seed germinates readily, and plants once established, freely set seed, producing numerous seedlings. However, in humid climates plants are prone to powdery mildew infections, and like many other indigenous forget-me-nots plants are prone rust infections, which make the leaves swollen and unsightly.
Other information
Plant of the Month
This plant has been featured as a Plant of the Month – see Trilepidea: NZPCN newsletter for July 2008 for the full story.
Etymology
myosotis: Mouse-eared
Chromosome number
2n = 44
Previous conservation statuses
2017 | Threatened – Nationally Endangered | Qualifiers: Sp
2012 | Threatened – Nationally Endangered | Qualifiers: Sp
2009 | Threatened – Nationally Endangered | Qualifiers: Sp
2004 | Threatened – Nationally Endangered
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.
Meudt, H.M.; Prebble, J.M.; Stanley, R.J.; Thorsen, M.J. 2013: Morphological and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) data show that New Zealand endemic Myosotis petiolata
(Boraginaceae) comprises three rare and threatened species. Australian Systematic Botany 26: 210-232.
Attribution
Fact Sheet prepared by NZPCN by P.J. de Lange 1 February 2008. Description subsequently published in de Lange et al. (2010). For a more recent assessment see Meudt et al. (2013).
NZPCN Fact Sheet citation
Please cite as: de Lange, P.J. (Year at time of access): Myosotis pansa subsp. pansa Fact Sheet (content continuously updated). New Zealand Plant Conservation Network. https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/myosotis-pansa-subsp-pansa/ (Date website was queried)