''Myosotis scorpioides'' (

syn. The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. * In botanical nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that applies to a taxon that (now) goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linnae ...

''Myosotis palustris''), the true forget-me-not or water forget-me-not, is a

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of t ...

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the borage family,

Boraginaceae Boraginaceae, the borage or forget-me-not family, includes about 2,000 species of shrubs, trees and herbs in 146, to 156 genera with a worldwide distribution. The APG IV system from 2016 classifies the Boraginaceae as single family of the order ...

Distribution and habitat

It is native to

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

, but is widely distributed elsewhere, including much of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

, as an

introduced species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived there ...

and sometimes a

noxious weed A noxious weed, harmful weed or injurious weed is a weed that has been designated by an agricultural or other governing authority as a plant that is injurious to agricultural or horticultural crops, natural habitats or ecosystems, or humans or liv ...

. The plant is common and widespread in Britain, however is very rare in Jersey. The plant is usually found in damp or wet habitats, such as bogs, ponds, streams, ditches, fen and rivers. Whilst it favours wet ground, it can survive submerged in water, and often can form floating rafts.

Description

It is an erect to ascending plant of up to 70 cm, bearing small (8-12 mm) flowers pink in bud, becoming blue when fully open, with yellow centers and white honey guides. The plant is distinguished by its long style. The leaves are oblong to linear and pubescent on both sides. It blooms from mid-spring to first frost in temperate climates. Water Forget-Me-Not (Myosotis scorpioides) in Pennsylvania

Water Forget-Me-Not (Myosotis scorpioides) in Pennsylvania

''Myosotis scorpioides'' is also known as scorpion grass due to the spiraling curve of its inflorescence on scorpioid cymes.

Gallery

File:Myosotis scorpioides PID1155-3.jpg, Whole plant File:Myosotis scorpioides LC0184.jpg, Flowers File:Myosotis scorpioides blatt.jpeg, Leaves File:Illustration Myosotis scorpioides0.jpg, Plate 487 from Thomé's ''Flora von Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz'' (1885)

References

External links

Jepson Manual TreatmentPhoto gallery
{{Taxonbar, from=Q147165 scorpioides Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus