Belongs within: Boraginaceae.
Contains: Pectocarya, Plagiobothrys, Amsinckia, Hackelia, Trichodesmeae, Myosotis, Cryptantha, Cynoglossum.
The Cynoglosseae were recognised by Långström & Chase (2002) as a clade within the Boraginaceae containing taxa with heterocolpate pollen, an undivided style with one stigma, and usually well-developed appendages or wings on the nutlets. A previously recognised division between tribes Cynoglosseae, Eritrichieae and Myosotideae was not supported by Långström & Chase’s (2002) molecular analysis. Members of the clade include the stickseeds of the genus Lappula, a Northern Hemisphere genus of annual herbs producing nutlet fruits covered more or less long, barbed prickles (Hickman 1993).
Sending forget-me-nots
Published 25 March 2012
I haven’t been able to prepare a full post lately as we’re currently in the field conducting our next survey round for the day job. In the meantime, I’ll just content myself with a brief introducion to the Cynoglosseae. This is a tribe in the plant family Boraginaceae, redefined by Långström & Chase (2002) on the basis of molecular phylogeny to effectively correspond to the clade of Boraginaceae with heterocolpate pollen, as well as an undivided style with a single stigma. In the heterocolpate pollen of Cynoglosseae, the three apertures found in the pollen of other Boraginaceae alternate with an equal number of ‘pseudoapertures’. The pseudoapertures represent gaps in the outer exine coat of the pollen grain like the apertures, but lack certain other features of the latter such as a concentration of cytoplasmic vesicles, as well as being longer and narrower (Hargrove & Simpson 2003).
Perhaps the most familiar members of this usage of Cynoglosseae are the forget-me-nots of the genus Myosotis, with other members including the hound’s-tongue Cynoglossum officinale and, here in Australia, the camelbush Trichodesma zeylanicum. Offhand, camelbushes are generally one of the more prominent flowering plants here on Barrow Island, my current location, though they’re one a bit of a low right now. There has been a bit of rain, and camelbush doesn’t like to get its feet wet.
The traditional associations of forget-me-nots, of course, are right there in their name. There are a number of stories supposedly explaining how these flowers came to be associated with the memory of loved ones (surely the most ridiculous being the one that apparently has a knight drowning under the weight of a bouquet of the things) but the true reasons are probably lost to history. My own suspicion is that it is perhaps ultimately because forget-me-nots are relatively unassuming as flowers go, making them an ideal symbol of beauty that should not be overlooked for the sake of more flashy but perhaps less reliable competitors.
Hound’s-tongue, on the other hand, seems to get its name from the resemblance of its leaves to its namesake. This plant doesn’t seem to have quite the same hold on human affection as the forget-me-not, and the reason for this may be indicated by some of its other vernacular names: ‘monk’s nit’ or ‘beggar’s lice’, in reference to its sticky seeds that adhere to clothing (perhaps ‘gypsy flower’ derives from the same source?) and, even more damning, ‘rats and mice’, referring to its unmistakeable smell.
Systematics of Cynoglosseae
<==Cynoglosseae [Eritrichieae] |--Omphalodes vernaLC02 `--+--TrichodesmeaeLC02 `--+--LappulaLC02 | |--L. barbataGR98 | |--L. microcarpaO88 | |--L. redowskiiH93 | | |--L. r. var. redowskiiH93 | | `--L. r. var. cupulata [incl. L. redowskii var. desertorum]H93 | `--L. squarrosa [incl. L. echinata]H93 `--+--MyosotisLC02 |--+--Pardoglossum cheirifoliumLC02 | |--CryptanthaLC02 | `--+--Lindelofia longifloraLC02 | `--CynoglossumLC02 `--TrigonotisLC02 |--T. brevipesLC02 |--T. multicaulisO88 |--T. ovalifoliaO88 |--T. peduncularisLC02 |--T. rotundifoliaO88 `--T. tibeticaO88 Cynoglosseae incertae sedis: ActinocaryaLC02 AfrotysoniaLC02 AntiotremaLC02 DiplolomaLC02 GyrocaryumLC02 Harpagonella palmeriLC02, H93 HeliocaryaLC02 HeterocaryumLC02 KrynitzkiaLC02 KuschakewicziaLC02 MattiaLC02 MattiastrumLC02 ParacaryumLC02 PectocaryaLC02 RinderaLC02 SolenanthusLC02 ThyrocarpusLC02 TrachelanthusLC02 TysoniaLC02 AnoplocaryumLC02 Asperugo procumbensLC02, C55 BothriospermumLC02 CraniospermumLC02 EchiochospermumLC02 EremocaryaLC02 LepechiniellaLC02 Myosotidium Hooker 1859LC02, A61 `--M. hortensia (Decne) Baill. 1891 (see below for synonymy)A61 NesocaryumLC02 Omphalolappula Brand 1931LC02, BR65 `--O. concava (Mueller) Brand 1931 (see below for synonymy)BR65 OreocaryaLC02 PlagiobothrysLC02 PseudomertensiaLC02 Rochelia stellulataLC02, C55 SchistocaryumLC02 TianschaniellaLC02 TretocaryaLC02 AmsinckiaLC02 HackeliaLC02 EchinospermumLC02 |--E. deflexumC55 `--E. lappulaC55 MicroulaLC02 |--M. pustulosaO88 |--M. sikkimensisO88 `--M. tibeticaO88 EritrichiumLC02 |--E. canumO88 |--E. fulvumC55 |--E. minimumO88 |--E. nanumH09 | |--E. n. ssp. nanumH09 | `--E. n. ssp. jankaeH09 `--E. thomsoniiO88
Myosotidium hortensia (Decne) Baill. 1891 [=Myosotis hortensia Decne in Deless. 1846; incl. Cynoglossum nobile Hooker 1858, Myosotidium nobile Hook. 1859]A61
Omphalolappula concava (Mueller) Brand 1931 [=Echinospermum concavum Mueller 1860, Cynoglossum concavum Kuntze 1891, Lappula concava Mueller 1882]BR65
*Type species of generic name indicated
References
[A61] Allan, H. H. 1961. Flora of New Zealand vol. 1. Indigenous Tracheophyta: Psilopsida, Lycopsida, Filicopsida, Gymnospermae, Dicotyledones. R. E. Owen, Government Printer: Wellington (New Zealand).
[BR65] Black, J. M., & E. L. Robertson. 1965. Flora of South Australia. Part IV. Oleaceae–Compositae. W. L. Hawes, Government Printer: Adelaide.
[C55] Candolle, A. de. 1855. Géographie Botanique Raisonée: Ou exposition des faits principaux et des lois concernant la distribution géographique des plantes de l’époque actuelle vol. 2. Librairie de Victor Masson: Paris.
[GR98] Greuter, W., & T. Raus (eds.) 1998. Med-Checklist Notulae, 17. Willdenowia 28: 163–174.
Hargrove, L., & M. G. Simpson. 2003. Ultrastructure of heterocolpate pollen in Cryptantha (Boraginaceae). International Journal of Plant Sciences 164 (1): 137–151.
[H09] Heltmann, H. 2009. Der Königstein (Piatra Craiului), die Perle der Burzenländer Gebirge. Mauritiana 20 (3): 515–527.
[H93] Hickman, J. C. (ed.) 1993. The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California. University of California Press: Berkeley (California).
[LC02] Långström, E., & M. W. Chase. 2002. Tribes of Boraginoideae (Boraginaceae) and placement of Antiphytum, Echiochilon, Ogastemma and Sericostoma: a phylogenetic analysis based on atpB plastid DNA sequence data. Plant Systematics and Evolution 234: 137–153.
[O88] Ohba, H. 1988. The alpine flora of the Nepal Himalayas: an introductory note. In: Ohba, H., & S. B. Malla (eds) The Himalayan Plants vol. 1. The University Museum, University of Tokyo, Bulletin 31: 19–46.