Myosotis scorpioides var. strigulosa
Common names
water forget-me-not
Biostatus
Exotic
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Herbs - Dicotyledons other than Composites
Simplified description
Low growing herb on wet ground and damp hollows. Leaves are pale green, stems often bend at the base and leaves are willow like. The flowers are small, pale blue with a yellow center.
Flower colours
Blue, Yellow
Detailed description
Plants are 20 to 60 cm tall, and often forms new plants at the nodes (stolons). Leaves are narrow, alternate and attached dierctly to the stem and have pointed or rounded tips with a prominent mid-vein. Flowers are 5 to 10 mm wide. The base of the petals forms a tube longer than the length of the petal lobes. Pedicels at fruiting are 1 to 2 times the length of the calyx. Nutlets (4) are black.
Similar taxa
Very similar to M. laxa subsp. caespitosa, but the corolla is usualy wider than 4mm.
Distribution
Throughout NZ.
Habitat
Margins and ponds, wet hollows.
Conservation status
Not applicable
Detailed taxonomy
Family
Boraginaceae
Synonyms
Myosotis scorpioides
Ecology
Flowering
November to May
Fruiting
Autumn
Year naturalised
1878
Origin
Europe
Reason for introduction
Ornamental pond and garden plant
Control techniques
Can be controlled manually, mechanically or herbicidally depending on situation.
Life cycle
Mainly seed dispersal by water movement and animals contaminated with hooked persistent calyx surrounding seed.
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). If you have suggestions for the Wetland Indicator Status Rating, please contact: [Enable JavaScript to view protected content]
FACW: Facultative Wetland
Usually is a hydrophyte but occasionally found in uplands (non-wetlands).
Other information
Etymology
myosotis: Mouse-eared
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.
MYOSCO
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Johnson PN, Brooke PA (1989). Wetland plants in New Zealand. DSIR Field Guide, DSIR Publishing, Wellington. 319pp.
Popay et al (2010). An illustrated guide to common weeds of New Zealand, third edition. NZ Plant Protection Society Inc, 416pp.
WSDE (2001). An aquatic plant identification manual for Washington’s freshwater plants. Washington State Department of Ecology, 195pp.
Attribution
Factsheet prepared by Paul Champion and Deborah Hofstra (NIWA).