Myosotis


Myosotis is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae. In the Northern Hemisphere, they are colloquially known as forget-me-nots or scorpion grasses. Myosotis alpestris is the official flower of Alaska and Dalsland, Sweden.
The name comes from the Ancient Greek μυοσωτίς "mouse's ear", which the foliage is thought to resemble. Plants of the genus are not to be confused with the related genus Myosotidium and its sole species Myosotidium hortensia found in the Chatham Islands.

Description

The genus was originally described by Carl Linnaeus. The type species is Myosotis scorpioides. Myosotis species are annual or perennial, herbaceous, flowering plants with pentamerous actinomorphic flowers.
Their foliage is alternate, and their roots are generally diffuse. They typically flower in spring or soon after the melting of snow in alpine ecosystems.
Flowers are borne on scorpioid cymes; they are flatly faced, with a typical diameter of or less; they are coloured typically blue, but sometimes pink, white or yellow. Its centre consists of five anthers each on filaments fused to the petals, they are surrounded by yellow bumps called "fornices".
The seeds are contained in small, tulip-shaped pods along the stem to the flower. The pods attach to clothing when brushed against and eventually fall off, leaving the small seed within the pod to germinate elsewhere. Seeds can be collected by placing a sheet of paper under stems and shaking the seed pods onto the paper.
Myosotis scorpioides is colloquially called scorpion grass because of the spiraling curvature of its inflorescence.

Distribution

The genus is largely restricted to western Eurasia, with over 60 confirmed species, and New Zealand with around 40 endemic species. A few species occur elsewhere, including North America, South America, and Papua New Guinea. Despite this, Myosotis species are now common throughout temperate latitudes because of the introduction of cultivars and alien species. Many are popular in horticulture. They prefer moist habitats. In locales where they are not native, they frequently escape to wetlands and riverbanks.
One or two European species, especially Myosotis sylvatica, the "woodland" forget-me-not, have been introduced into most of the temperate regions of Europe, Asia, and the Americas.
Genetic analysis indicates that the genus originated in the Northern Hemisphere, and that species native to New Zealand, Australia, New Guinea, and South America form a lineage of closely related species that are likely derived from a single dispersal event to the Southern Hemisphere.

Ecology

Myosotis species are food for the larvae of some Lepidoptera species, including the setaceous Hebrew character. Many of the species in New Zealand are threatened.

Taxonomy

Of more than 510 recorded species names, only 156 species are presently accepted, listed below. The remainder are either synonyms or hybrids of presently accepted or proposed names.
  • Myosotis abyssinica Boiss. & Reut.
  • Myosotis afropalustris C.H. Wright
  • Myosotis albicans  Riedl
  • Myosotis albiflora Banks & Sol. ex Hook.f.
  • Myosotis albosericea Hook.f.
  • Myosotis alpestris F.W.Schmidt
  • Myosotis amabilis Cheeseman
  • Myosotis ambigens Grau
  • Myosotis angustata Cheeseman
  • Myosotis anomala  Riedl
  • Myosotis antarctica Hook.f.
  • Myosotis arnoldii L.B.Moore
  • Myosotis arvensis Hill
  • Myosotis asiatica Schischk. & Serg.
  • Myosotis atlantica  Vestergr.
  • Myosotis australis R.Br.
  • Myosotis austrosibirica  O.D.Nikif.
  • Myosotis azorica H.C.Watson
  • Myosotis baicalensis  O.D.Nikif.
  • Myosotis balbisiana Jord.
  • Myosotis × bohemica Domin
  • Myosotis × bollandica P.Jeps.
  • Myosotis bothriospermoides Kitag.
  • Myosotis brachypoda  Gren.
  • Myosotis brevis de Lange & Barkla
  • Myosotis brockiei L.B.Moore & M.J.A.Simpson
  • Myosotis bryonoma Meudt, Prebble & Thorsen
  • Myosotis butorinae  Stepanov
  • Myosotis × cadevallii
  • Myosotis cadmea Kitag
  • Myosotis cameroonensis  Cheek & R.Becker
  • Myosotis capitata Hook.f.
  • Myosotis chaffeyorum Lehnebach
  • Myosotis chakassica  O.D.Nikif.
  • Myosotis cheesemanii Petrie
  • Myosotis × cinerascens Petrie
  • Myosotis colensoi J.F.Macbr.
  • Myosotis concinna Cheeseman
  • Myosotis congesta  Shuttlew.
  • Myosotis corsicana   Grau
  • Myosotis czekanowskii  Kamelin & V.N.Tikhom.
  • Myosotis daralaghezica  T.N.Popova
  • Myosotis debilis  Pomel
  • Myosotis decumbens Host
  • Myosotis densiflora
  • Myosotis diminuta  Grau
  • Myosotis discolor Pers.
  • Myosotis densiflora C. Koch
  • Myosotis dissitiflora  Baker
  • Myosotis dubia
  • Myosotis ergakensis  Stepanov
  • Myosotis exarrhena F. Muell.
  • Myosotis eximia Petrie
  • Myosotis explanata Cheeseman
  • Myosotis forsteri Lehm.
  • Myosotis gallica  Vestergr.
  • Myosotis galpinii  C.H.Wright
  • Myosotis glabrescens L.B.Moore
  • Myosotis glauca de Lange & Barkla
  • Myosotis goyenii Petrie
  • Myosotis graminifolia  DC.
  • Myosotis graui  Selvi
  • Myosotis guneri A.P.Khokhr.
  • Myosotis heteropoda  Trautv.
  • Myosotis hikuwai Meudt, Prebble & G.M.Rogers
  • Myosotis imitata  Serg.
  • Myosotis incrassata Guss.
  • Myosotis jenissejensis  O.D.Nikif.
  • Myosotis jordanovii  N.Andreev & Peev
  • Myosotis × kablikiana
  • Myosotis kamelinii  O.D.Nikif.
  • Myosotis kazakhstanica  O.D.Nikif.
  • Myosotis kebeshensis  Stepanov
  • Myosotis keniensis  T.C.E.Fr.
  • Myosotis koelzii  Riedl
  • Myosotis kolakovskyi  A.P.Khokhr.
  • Myosotis × krajinae
  • Myosotis krasnoborovii  O.D.Nikif. & Lomon.
  • Myosotis krylovii Serg.
  • Myosotis kurdica  Riedl
  • Myosotis laeta Cheeseman
  • Myosotis laingii Cheeseman
  • Myosotis latifolia Poir.
  • Myosotis laxa Lehm.
  • Myosotis lazica  Popov
  • Myosotis lithospermifolia Hornem.
  • Myosotis lithuanica   Besser ex Dobrocz.
  • Myosotis litoralis  Steven ex M.Bieb.
  • Myosotis ludomilae  Zaver.
  • Myosotis lyallii Hook.f.
  • Myosotis macrantha Benth. & Hook.f.
  • Myosotis macrosiphon  Font Quer & Maire
  • Myosotis macrosperma Engelm.
  • Myosotis magniflora  A.P.Khokhr.
  • Myosotis margaritae  Štěpánková
  • Myosotis maritima  Hochst. ex Seub.
  • Myosotis martini  Sennen
  • Myosotis matthewsii L.B.Moore
  • Myosotis michaelae  Štěpánková
  • Myosotis micrantha  Pall. ex Lehm.
  • Myosotis minutiflora Boiss. & Reut.
  • Myosotis monroi Cheeseman
  • Myosotis nemorosa Besser
  • Myosotis nikiforovae  Stepanov
  • Myosotis ochotensis  O.D.Nikif.
  • Myosotis olympica  Boiss.
  • Myosotis oreophila Petrie
  • Myosotis pansa Meudt, Prebble, R.J.Stanley & Thorsen
  • Myosotis × parviflora
  • Myosotis paucipilosa   Ristow & Hand
  • Myosotis × permixta
  • Myosotis persoonii  Georges RouyRouy & E.G.Camus
  • Myosotis petiolata Hook.f.
  • Myosotis platyphylla Boiss.
  • Myosotis popovii  Dobrocz.
  • Myosotis pospelovae
  • Myosotis pottsiana Meudt, Prebble, R.J.Stanley & Thorsen
  • Myosotis propinqua   Fisch. & C.A.Mey.
  • Myosotis × pseudohispida
  • Myosotis pulvinaris Hook.f.
  • Myosotis pusilla  Loisel.
  • Myosotis radix-palaris  A.P.Khokhr.
  • Myosotis rakiura L.B.Moore
  • Myosotis ramosissima Rochel
  • Myosotis refracta  Boiss.
  • Myosotis rehsteineri   Wartm. ex Reut.
  • Myosotis retrorsa Meudt, Prebble & Hindmarsh-Walls
  • Myosotis rivularis A.P. Khokhr
  • Myosotis robusta  D.Don
  • Myosotis sajanensis  O.D.Nikif.
  • Myosotis saxatilis Petrie
  • Myosotis saxosa Hook.f.
  • Myosotis schistosa  A.P.Khokhr.
  • Myosotis schmakovii  O.D.Nikif.
  • Myosotis scorpioides
  • Myosotis secunda Al.Murray
  • Myosotis semiamplexicaulis DC.
  • Myosotis sicula Guss.
  • Myosotis solange  Greuter & Zaffran
  • Myosotis soleirolii  Godr.
  • Myosotis sparsiflora J.C.Mikan ex Pohl
  • Myosotis spatulata G.Forst.
  • Myosotis speciosa  Pomel
  • Myosotis speluncicola Schott ex Boiss.
  • Myosotis stenophylla Knaf
  • Myosotis stolonifera J.Gay ex Leresche & Levier
  • Myosotis stricta Link ex Roem. & Schult.
  • Myosotis suavis Petrie]
  • Myosotis subcordata  Riedl
  • Myosotis × suzae
  • Myosotis sylvatica Ehrh. ex Hoffm.
  • Myosotis taverae  Valdés
  • Myosotis tenericaulis Petrie
  • Myosotis tineoi  C.Brullo & Brullo
  • Myosotis traversii Hook.f.
  • Myosotis tuxeniana O.Bolòs & Vigo
  • Myosotis ucrainica Czern.
  • Myosotis ultramafica Meudt, Prebble & Rance
  • Myosotis umbrosa Meudt, Prebble & Thorsen
  • Myosotis uniflora Hook.f.
  • Myosotis urceolaris  Shuttlew.
  • Myosotis venosa Colenso
  • Myosotis venticola Meudt & Prebble
  • Myosotis verchojanica
  • Myosotis verna Nutt.
  • Myosotis vestergrenii  Stroh
  • Myosotis welwitschii Boiss. & Reut.
  • Myosotis wumengensis  L.Wei