Belongs within: Cynoglosseae.
Myosotis, the forget-me-nots, is a genus of herbaceous plants found in cooler regions of the world with mostly blue (occasionally white or yellow) flowers. Some species have been grown widely outside their native ranges as ornamental plants.
Characters (Hickman 1993): Annual or perennial, glabrous to rough-hairy; roots generally diffuse. Stem decumbent to erect. Basal leaves generally oblong or oblanceolate; cauline leaves generally linear to elliptic. Inflorescence coiled, generally raceme-like, eventually more or less open; bracts absent (or leaf-like in lower half); flowers generally in upper half of plant. Flower with five calyx lobes, generally more or less equal; corolla salverform or widely funnel-shaped, white, yellow, or generally blue, tube five-appendaged at top, limb abruptly spreading, five-lobed; stamens 5, included; style generally included. Nutlets smooth, shiny, each with raised outer margin, scar lateral, at base, small.
<==Myosotis Linnaeus 1753 [incl. Exarrhena Brown 1810; Myosotideae]A61
|--M. albo-sericea Hooker 1867A61
|--M. amabilis Cheeseman 1906A61
|--M. angustata Cheeseman 1906A61
|--M. antarctica Hooker 1844A61
|--M. arnoldii Moore in Allan 1961A61
|--M. arvensisLC02
|--M. australis Br. 1810 (see below for synonymy)A61
|--M. caespitosaHE80
|--M. capitata Hooker 1844A61
|--M. cheesemanii Petrie 1886A61
|--M. colensoi (Kirk) Macbride 1916 [=Exarrhena colensoi Kirk 1895; incl. M. decora Kirk ex Cheeseman 1906]A61
|--M. collinaC06
|--M. concinna Cheeseman 1885A61
|--M. discolor [incl. M. versicolor]H93
|--M. elderi Moore in Allan 1961A61
|--M. eximia Petrie 1916A61
|--M. explanata Cheeseman 1906A61
|--M. forsteri Lehm. 1818 [incl. M. hamiltonii Colenso 1888, M. polyantha Colenso 1899, M. tenuifolia Colenso 1899]A61
|--M. glabrescens Moore in Allan 1961A61
|--M. glomerataJ23
|--M. goyenii Petrie 1891A61
|--M. laeta Cheeseman 1885A61
|--M. laingii Cheeseman 1912A61
|--M. latifoliaH93
|--M. laxaH93
|--M. lyallii Hooker 1853A61 [=Exarrhena lyalliiC06]
| |--M. l. var. lyalliiA61
| `--M. l. var. townsonii (Cheeseman) Moore in Allan 1961 [=M. townsonii Cheeseman 1906]A61
|--M. macrantha (Hooker) Benth. & Hooker 1876 (see below for synonymy)A61
|--M. matthewsii Moore in Allan 1961A61
|--M. micranthaH93
|--M. monroi Cheeseman 1906A61
|--M. oreophila Petrie 1896A61 [=M. (Exarrhena) oreophilaC06]
|--M. palustrisBR65
|--M. petiolata Hooker 1853A61 [=Exarrhena petiolataC06]
| |--M. p. var. petiolataA61
| |--M. p. var. pansa Moore in Allan 1961A61
| `--M. p. var. pottsiana Moore in Allan 1961A61
|--M. pulvinaris Hooker 1864 [incl. M. hectori Hooker 1864]A61
|--M. pygmaea Colenso 1884 (see below for synonymy)A61
| |--M. p. var. pygmaeaA61
| |--M. p. var. drucei Moore in Allan 1961A61
| |--M. p. var. glauca Simpson & Thomson 1943A61
| `--M. p. var. minutiflora Simpson & Thomson 1943A61
|--M. rakiura Moore in Allan 1961 (see below for synonymy)A61
|--M. ramosissimaG88
|--M. refractaC55
|--M. saxosa Hooker 1853 [=Exarrhena saxosa Hooker 1864]A61
|--M. scorpioidesLDB98
|--M. spathulata Forster 1786A61 [=Anchusa spathulataC06; incl. M. orbiculata Simpson 1952A61]
| |--M. s. var. spathulataA61
| `--M. s. var. radicata Moore in Allan 1961A61
|--M. strictaHE80
|--‘*Exarrhena’ suaveolensA61
|--M. suavis Petrie 1914A61
|--M. subvernicosa Colenso 1891 (n. d.)A61
|--M. sylvaticaBR65
|--M. tenericaulis Petrie 1918 [=M. tenuicaulis (l. c.); incl. M. tenuis Simpson & Thomson 1944]A61
|--M. traversii Hooker 1864A61
| |--M. t. var. traversii [incl. M. cockayniana Petrie 1913, M. traversii var. cockayniana (Petrie) Cheeseman 1925]A61
| |--M. t. var. cantabrica Moore in Allan 1961A61
| `--M. t. var. cinerascens (Petrie) Moore in Allan 1961 [=M. cinerascens Petrie 1918]A61
|--M. uniflora Hooker 1864A61
|--M. venosa Colenso 1896 [incl. M. astonii Cheeseman 1910, M. diversifolia Petrie 1918]A61
`--M. verna [incl. M. virginica]H93
Myosotis australis Br. 1810 [incl. M. australis var. conspicua Cheeseman 1906, M. australis var. lytteltonensis Laing & Wall 1924, M. saxatilis Petrie 1918 non Pallas 1795]A61
Myosotis macrantha (Hooker) Benth. & Hooker 1876 [=Exarrhena macrantha Hooker 1864; incl. M. macrantha var. diversa Simpson & Thomson 1943, M. macrantha var. pulchra Cheeseman 1906, M. macrantha var. westlandica Petrie 1918]A61
Myosotis pygmaea Colenso 1884 [incl. M. ramificata Simpson 1952, M. antarctica ssp. traillii Kirk 1884, M. pygmaea var. traillii (Kirk) Ckn. 1921]A61
Myosotis rakiura Moore in Allan 1961 [=M. capitata var. albiflora Armstr. 1881 non M. albiflora Banks & Sol. ex Hooker 1847, M. capitata ssp. albida Kirk 1885, M. albida (Kirk) Cheeseman in Cockayne 1909 non Kunth in H.B. & K. 1818]A61
*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.
[C06] Cheeseman, T. F. 1906. Manual of the New Zealand Flora. John Mackay, Government Printer: Wellington.
[G88] Grubb, P. J. 1988. The uncoupling of disturbance and recruitment, two kinds of seed bank, and persistence of plant populations at the regional and local scales. Annales Zoologici Fennici 25: 23–26.
[HE80] Healy, A. J., & E. Edgar. 1980. Flora of New Zealand vol. 3. Adventive cyperaceous, petalous and spathaceous monocotyledons. P. D. Hasselberg, Government Printer: Wellington (New Zealand).
[H93] Hickman, J. C. (ed.) 1993. The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California. University of California Press: Berkeley (California).
[J23] James, E. 1823. Account of an Expedition from Pittsburgh to the Rocky Mountains, performed in the years 1819 and ’20, by order of the Hon. J. C. Calhoun, sec’y of war: under the command of Major Stephen H. Long. From the notes of Major Long, Mr. T. Say, and other gentlemen of the exploring party vol. 1. H. C. Carey & I. Lea: Philadelphia.
[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.
[LDB98] Lenssen, J. P. M., G. E. ten Dolle & C. W. P. M. Blom. 1998. The effect of flooding on the recruitment of reed marsh and tall forb plant species. Plant Ecology 139: 13–23.