''Myosotis goyenii'' subsp. ''infima'' Meudt & Heenan is a subspecies of
flowering plant in the
family Boraginaceae,
endemic to central
South Island
The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...
of
New Zealand. Heidi Meudt and
Peter Heenan
Peter Heenan, (February 19, 1875 – May 12, 1948) was a Canadian union leader and politician, and also served as a cabinet minister at the federal and provincial levels.
Early life
Born in Tullaree, near Newcastle, County Down, Irelan ...
described this subspecies in 2021. Plants of this subspecies of
forget-me-not are
perennial rosettes which form caespitose clumps, with ebracteate, erect inflorescences, and white corollas with fully incluced stamens.
Taxonomy and etymology
''Myosotis goyenii'' subsp. ''infima'' Meudt & Heenan is in the plant family
Boraginaceae.
The subspecies was described by Heidi Meudt and
Peter Heenan
Peter Heenan, (February 19, 1875 – May 12, 1948) was a Canadian union leader and politician, and also served as a cabinet minister at the federal and provincial levels.
Early life
Born in Tullaree, near Newcastle, County Down, Irelan ...
in 2021.
The holotype was collected by Peter Heenan and Miles Giller in Canterbury, Waipara, South Dean and is lodged at the Allan Herbarium of
Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research (CHR 666639). There is also an isotype is lodged at the herbarium of the
Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. ''Te Papa Tongarewa'' translates literally to "container of treasures" or in full "container of treasured things and people that spring fr ...
(WELT SP111309).
The subspecific epithet, ''infima'', means lowest or lowermost in Latin (''infimus''), and refers to the
filaments in the flower which are attached much lower in the corolla tube than those of ''M. goyenii'' subsp. ''goyenii''.
This is one of two subspecies recognized in ''Myosotis goyenii''; the other is
''M. goyenii'' subsp. goyenii''.''
The subspecies are
allopatric
Allopatric speciation () – also referred to as geographic speciation, vicariant speciation, or its earlier name the dumbbell model – is a mode of speciation that occurs when biological populations become geographically isolated from ...
, with ''M. goyenii'' subsp. ''infima'' found on limestone and calcareous siltstone in Marlborough and Canterbury and ''M. goyenii'' subsp. ''goyenii'' occupying schist rocks in Southland and Otago.
''M. goyenii'' subsp. ''infima'' plants can be distinguished from ''M. goyenii'' subsp. ''goyenii'' by its
caespitose clumps of multiple rosettes that have fibrous roots, and have flowers with a short style (< 6 mm), pistil that is < 1.5× longer than the calyx, filaments attached > 1 mm below the faucal scales, and anthers fully included. By contrast, plants of ''M. goyenii'' subsp. ''infima'' form clumps of single
rosettes that have a central woody
taproot, and the following floral characteristics: a long
style (> 6 mm),
pistil
Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) ''pistils'' ...
that is 1.6–2.8× longer than the calyx,
filaments attached < 1 mm below the scales, and
anthers
The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10
Morphology and terminology
A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filam ...
only partly included (with the tips equal to or just surpassing the scales).
Phylogeny
''Myosotis goyenii'' was shown to be a part of the
monophyletic
In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...
southern hemisphere lineage of ''Myosotis'' in
phylogenetic analyses of standard DNA sequencing markers (
nuclear ribosomal DNA
Nuclear may refer to:
Physics
Relating to the Atomic nucleus, nucleus of the atom:
*Nuclear engineering
*Nuclear physics
*Nuclear power
*Nuclear reactor
*Nuclear weapon
*Nuclear medicine
*Radiation therapy
*Nuclear warfare
Mathematics
*Nuclear ...
and
chloroplast DNA regions).
Within the southern hemisphere lineage, species relationships were not well resolved.
Of the three individuals of ''M. goyenii'' sequenced in these studies'','' one is from Canterbury (''M. goyenii'' subsp. ''infima'').
Description
''Myosotis goyenii'' subsp. ''infima'' plants are single rosettes with fibrous roots that often grow together to form caespitose clumps or tufts. The rosette leaves have
petioles 10–48 mm long. The rosette leaf blades are 7–40 mm long by 3–11 mm wide (length: width ratio 2.2–5.3: 1), usually narrowly oblanceolate, oblanceolate or narrowly obovate, widest at or above the middle (rarely below the middle), with an
acute
Acute may refer to:
Science and technology
* Acute angle
** Acute triangle
** Acute, a leaf shape in the glossary of leaf morphology
* Acute (medicine), a disease that it is of short duration and of recent onset.
** Acute toxicity, the adverse eff ...
apex (rarely
obtuse). Both surfaces and the edges of the leaf are densely covered in straight, appressed, antrorse (forward-facing) hairs that are oriented parallel to the mid vein. Each rosette has 2–40 erect, usually once-branched (sometimes unbranched), ebracteate
inflorescences that are up to 350 mm long and are usually bifurcating in an open, forked 'V' shape near the tips. The cauline leaves are up to 8 per inflorescence and are similar to the rosette leaves but smaller with shorter petioles, and decrease in size toward the tip. Each inflorescence has up to 26 flowers, each borne on a
pedicel
Pedicle or pedicel may refer to:
Human anatomy
*Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures
...
up to 3 mm long at fruiting, and each without a bract. The calyx is 3–5 mm long at flowering and 4–6 mm long at fruiting, lobed to half to almost all of its length, and densely covered in antrorse, straight to flexuous, appressed to patent hairs. The corolla is white, up to 14 mm in diameter, with a cylindrical tube, petals that are broadly ovate, obovate, broadly obovate or broadly obovate, and small yellow scales alternating with the petals. The stamens are 4.5–6.3 mm long (measured from the base of the calyx to the anther tips) with filaments 0.4–0.7 mm long that are attached to the corolla tube > 1 mm below the base of the scales. The anthers are fully included in the corolla tube. The pistil is 5–7 mm long with a style that is 3–6 mm long at fruiting. The four smooth, shiny, light to dark brown nutlets are 1.7–2.7 mm long by 1.0–1.3 mm wide and narrowly ovoid in shape.
The chromosome number of ''M. goyenii'' subsp. ''infima'' is unknown.
The pollen of ''M. goyenii'' subsp. ''infima'' is unknown.
It flowers and fruits from October–June, with the main flowering and fruiting period in January.
Distribution and habitat
''Myosotis goyenii'' subsp. ''infima'' is a
forget-me-not endemic to Marlborough and Canterbury in the South Island of New Zealand, from 450–1200 m ASL. It is found on rock (limestone and calcareous siltstone) slopes, outcrops, crevices and escarpments.
Conservation status
The subspecies ''M. goyenii'' subsp. ''infima'' was assessed (as taxonomically indeterminate ''Myosotis'' "Waipapa") as being Data Deficient.
It was not yet assessed in the most recent assessment (2017-2018) under the
New Zealand Threatened Classification system for plants.
References
External links
''Myosotis goyenii subsp. infima'' occurrence data from Australasian Virtual Herbarium*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q111821876, from2=Q17416554
goyenii subsp. infima
Endemic flora of New Zealand
Endangered flora of New Zealand
Flora of the South Island
Plants described in 2021