''Myosotis spatulata'' is a species of
flowering plant in the
family Boraginaceae,
endemic to
New Zealand.
Georg Forster described the species in 1786. Plants of this species of
forget-me-not are
perennial rosettes with bracteate inflorescences and white corollas.
Taxonomy and etymology
''Myosotis spatulata'' is in the plant family
Boraginaceae and was originally described in 1786 by
Georg Forster.
''Myosotis spatulata'' is morphologically most similar to the other creeping, bracteate-prostrate species including ''
M. matthewsii,
M. chaffeyorum'', ''M. tenericaulis and
M. albiflora.''
It can be distinguished from all four of these species by its mostly patent rosette leaf hairs (which are appressed in the other four species), and a filament length that is intermediate ((0.3–)0.5–1.5 mm) between ''M. matthewsii'' (which has very long filaments: 2.6–3.1 mm) and the other three species (which have very short filaments from 0.1–0.5 mm long: ''M. tenericaulis'', ''M. chaffeyorum'' and ''M. albiflora'').
Although two varieties of ''M. spatulata'' were described, there are no morphological characters which separate them, and the varieties were not recognized in the most recent taxonomic revision.
The lectotype specimen of ''Myosotis spatulata'' was selected by
Lucy Moore and is lodged at the
Paris herbarium
The French National Museum of Natural History, known in French as the ' (abbreviation MNHN), is the national natural history museum of France and a ' of higher education part of Sorbonne Universities. The main museum, with four galleries, is loc ...
(National Museum of Natural History, France; herbarium P).
There are several other specimens of original material, which were collected at
Queen Charlotte Sound on
Captain Cook’s
second voyage
The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds eac ...
(1772–1775).
The specific epithet, ''spatulata'', refers to the leaf shape and is derived from the Greek words meaning blade (''spathe'') or spoon-shaped (''spatulata''). The spelling of the epithet by Forster is without an 'h' in the original description, i.e.: ‘M. spatulata, seiminibus laevibus, foliis spatulatis hispidis, pedunculis axillaribus, solitariis unifloris. F. Nova Zeelandia.’
Many authors since then have spelled the epithet ''spathulata'' instead of ''spatulata,'' including
Robert Brown in his ''
Prodromus
A prodromus ('forerunner' or 'precursor') aka prodrome is a term used in the natural sciences to describe a preliminary publication intended as the basis for a later, more comprehensive work.
It is also a medical term used for a premonitory sympt ...
''.
Phylogeny
''Myosotis spatulata'' 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).
The three individuals of ''M. spatulata'' that were sequenced showed that this species is more closely related to the ebracteate-erect species ''M. forsteri'' and ''M. venosa'' than other bracteate-prostrate species.
However the three individuals of ''M. spatulata'' did not form a monophyletic group, and species relationships within the southern hemisphere lineage in general were not well resolved.
Description
''Myosotis spatulata'' plants are rosettes. The rosette leaves have
petioles 4–30 mm long. The rosette leaf blades are 4–28 mm long by 3–18 mm wide (length: width ratio 0.9–1.7: 1), usually narrowly to broadly obovate, widest at or above the middle, with an
obtuse apex. Both surfaces of the leaf are sparsely to densely covered in straight (some flexuous), patent, antrorse (forward-facing) hairs that are oriented at an angle (upper surface) or parallel (lower surface) relative to the mid vein. The leaf margin hairs are the same but usually appressed. Each rosette has 2–12 sprawling, creeping, prostrate, unbranched or once-branched bracteate
inflorescences that are 62–310 mm long. The cauline leaves (or bracts) are very similar to the rosette leaves, but become smaller and sessile toward the tip of the inflorescence. The flowers are 1–47 per inflorescence and each is borne on a short
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
...
and associated with a bract. The calyx is 1–4 mm long at flowering and 2–4 mm long at fruiting, deeply lobed to half or all of its length, and densely covered in short, straight to flexuous (sometimes hooked near the calyx base), appressed, patent, or erect, antrorse hairs. The corolla is white and 1–5 mm in diameter, with a cylindrical tube, petals that are broadly obovate, rotund or ovate, and flat, and small, faint yellow scales alternating with the petals. The anthers are fully exserted. The four smooth, shiny, usually medium to dark brown nutlets are 1.1–1.8 mm long by 0.7–1.2 mm wide and ovoid (rarely broadly ovoid) in shape.
''Myosotis spatulata'' has ''M. uniflora'' type pollen.
The chromosome number of ''M. spatulata'' is (2n = 46; AK 253584).
''Myosotis spatulata'' flowers and fruits throughout the year (January–December), with the main flowering period October–March and the main fruiting period November–May.
Distribution and habitat
''Myosotis spatulata'' is endemic to New Zealand, and has a large geographical distribution throughout the North and South Islands from 0–1500 m elevation. On the North Island, it is found in: Northland, Auckland, Volcanic Plateau, Gisborne and Southern North Island; on the South Island it is known from Sounds-Nelson, Canterbury, Otago and Fiordland. It is also present on several offshore islands, including
Manawatāwhi / Three Kings;
Aotea / Great Barrier;
Taranga / Hen and Chickens;
Moutohora / Whale; and
Chatham Islands''.''
''M. spatulata'' is found on rocky,
base-rich substrates, in dry or wet, shaded, sheltered areas in grassland, shrubland or forests.
Conservation status
The species is listed as At Risk - Naturally Uncommon in the most recent assessment (2017-2018) of the
New Zealand Threatened Classification for plants. It also has the qualifiers "DP" (Data Poor), "EF" (Extreme Fluctuations), and "Sp" (Sparse).
References
External links
''Myosotis spatulata'' occurrence data from Australasian Virtual Herbarium*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q17416927
spatulata
Endemic flora of New Zealand
Endangered flora of New Zealand
Plants described in 1786
Taxa named by Georg Forster