Myosotis capitata

Myosotis capitata is a species of forget-me-not native to the Campbell and Auckland Islands.[3] Joseph Dalton Hooker described the species in his 19th century work Flora Antarctica.[2]

Myosotis capitata
Plate XXXVII of Hooker's Flora Antarctica

Naturally Uncommon (NZ TCS)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Boraginales
Family: Boraginaceae
Genus: Myosotis
Species:
M. capitata
Binomial name
Myosotis capitata

Description

Myosotis capitata forms small rosettes. The leaf-blades of the rosettes are 30-120 mm long by 10-25 mm wide and are rounded at the apex (and sometimes with a sharp pointed tip). The upper surface of the blades are densely covered in long silky hairs, while on the lower surface the hairs are shorter and fewer. Cymes are generally without bracts, are 8-flowered and the flowers are on very short stems. The calyx is 3-5 mm long and the corolla is a deep blue, with a cylindrical tube and the lobes are rounded and flat. The black nutlets are 1.2-2.5 by 1.2-1.5 mm.[3]

It flowers from November to February, and fruits from December to February.[3]

Habitat

It is found from sea level up to altitudes of 600 m, on cliff faces and in boulder fields.[3]

Conservation Status

The species is listed as "At Risk - Naturally Uncommon" on the most recent assessment (2018) under the New Zealand Threatened Classification system for plants, because of its restricted range.[1]

Etymology

Its specific epithet, capitata, derives from the Latin, caput/capitis, meaning "head" and hence describes the plant has having its flowers arranged in head-like inflorescences or having some other head-shaped structure.[4]

References
  1. Lange, Peter J. de; Rolfe, Jeremy R.; Barkla, John W.; Courtney, Shannel P.; Champion, Paul D.; Perrie, Leon R.; Beadel, Sarah M.; Ford, Kerry A.; Breitwieser, Ilse; Schönberger, Ines; Hindmarsh-Walls, Rowan (May 2018). "Conservation status of New Zealand indigenous vascular plants, 2017" (PDF). New Zealand Threat Classification Series. 22: 45. OCLC 1041649797.
  2. Hooker, J.D. (1844) The botany of the Antarctic voyage of H.M. discovery ships Erebus and Terror in the Years 1839-1843 :under the command of Captain Sir James Clark Ross: 1: 56
  3. "Myosotis capitata | New Zealand Plant Conservation Network". nzpcn.org.nz. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  4. "capitatus,-a,-um". www.plantillustrations.org. Retrieved 11 January 2020.


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