''Omphalodes'' (navelwort) is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

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 ...

s in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Boraginaceae, widely distributed in the

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout ...

Northern Hemisphere. In spring they produce blue or white flowers similar to forget-me-nots. Both the Greek ''Omphalodes'' (navel-like) and the English "navelwort" refer to the shape of the seeds. '' O. verna'' and cultivars of '' O. cappadocica'' are grown in gardens for their blue flowers which in spring appear above the leaves in loose sprays. They are woodland plants, preferring some shade.

Systematics

The genus ''Omphalodes'' traditionally contained many species that have been split-off in 2014 and 2016 The Japanese "''Omphalodes''" and "''Omphalodes scorpioides''" turned out not to be closely related to ''Omphalodes'', and were separated as distinct genera, ''

Nihon Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

'' and '' Memoremea'' respectively. Serrano et al. separated the Iberian annual species as '' Iberodes''. This left the remainder of species from Western Eurasia as sister to New World species, including the

Chatham Islands The Chatham Islands ( ) (Moriori: ''Rēkohu'', 'Misty Sun'; mi, Wharekauri) are an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean about east of New Zealand's South Island. They are administered as part of New Zealand. The archipelago consists of about te ...

(off the coast of

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

) endemic species '' Myosotidium hortensia''. The clade of the New World species also included the

Juan Fernández Islands The Juan Fernández Islands ( es, Archipiélago Juan Fernández) are a sparsely inhabited series of islands in the South Pacific Ocean reliant on tourism and fishing. Situated off the coast of Chile, they are composed of three main volcanic i ...

(off the coast of Chile) endemic '' Selkirkia berteroi'' and three species formerly placed in ''

Cynoglossum ''Cynoglossum'' is a genus of small-flowered plants in the family Boraginaceae (borage family). ''Cynoglossum officinale'', the common hound's-tongue, is a native of Asia, Africa, and Europe. It has been introduced into North America, and it is ...

'', which were then transferred to a more broadly circumscribed genus '' Selkirkia''. The majority of the North American "''Omphalodes''" species were then split-off as '' Mimophytum''. ''Omphalodes'' in its strict sense comprises Western Eurasian perennial species with a creeping rhizome.

Gallery

File:Omphalodes cappadocica 1.jpg, '' Omphalodes cappadocica'' File:Omphalodes_verna_(4).jpg, ''

Omphalodes verna ''Omphalodes verna'', the creeping navelwort or blue-eyed-Mary, is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial plant in the genus ''Omphalodes'' belonging to the family Boraginaceae. Etymology The genus name ''Omphalodes'' derives from the Greek word , ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q158879 Boraginaceae genera Taxa named by Philip Miller