Species

Myosotis brevis

Etymology

Myosotis: mouse-eared
brevis: Short

Common Name(s)

None Known

Current Conservation Status

2012 - Threatened - Nationally Vulnerable

Conservation status of New Zealand indigenous vascular plants, 2012
The conservation status of all known New Zealand vascular plant taxa at the rank of species and below were reassessed in 2012 using the New Zealand Threat Classification System (NZTCS). This report includes a statistical summary and brief notes on changes since 2009 and replaces all previous NZTCS lists for vascular plants. Authors: Peter J. de Lange, Jeremy R. Rolfe, Paul D. Champion, Shannel P. Courtney, Peter B. Heenan, John W. Barkla, Ewen K. Cameron, David A. Norton and Rodney A. Hitchmough. File size: 792KB

Previous Conservation Status

2009 - Threatened - Nationally Endangered
2004 - Threatened - Nationally Vulnerable

Qualifiers

2012 - EF, RR, Sp
2009 - DP, EF

Authority

Myosotis brevis de Lange et Barkla

Family

Boraginaceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

NVS Species Code

MYOBRE

The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Herbs other than Composites

Synonyms

Myosotis pygmaea var. minutiflora G.Simpson et J.S.Thomson

Distribution

Endemic. North and South Islands. In the North Island known from East Cape, the South Taranaki Coast, Kapiti Island, along the South Wellington Coast, and at Cape Palliser. In the South Island, locally present in Marlborough, Canterbury, and Central Otago.

Habitat

Coastal to alpine, in open and more or less shingly places.

Features

Decumbent, annual or rarely short-lived perennial herb, forming small circular patches on open ground. Rosette rather compact, densely to sparsely leafy. Petiole narrow or broad, 3-5 mm long. Leaves 8-25 x 4-10 mm, green, dark green, bronze-green to brown-green, obovate to spathulate or clavate, apex obtuse, rounded, base often oblique, otherwise attenuate, upper leaf surface with copious, stiff to coarse, spreading, straight hairs, undersides glabrescent or glabrous. Lateral branches numerous, decumbent, 10-30(-60) mm long, usually hidden within, though sometimes extending beyond rosette leaves. Stem leaves similar to rosette leaves, shortly petiolate. Bracts sessile, 5-7 x 1-4 mm, narrow oblong, obovate to spathulate, base oblique, subopposite to opposite, overlapping. Inflorescences cymose, cymes simple, few- to many-flowered, subtended by leafy bracts throughout, internodes 2-3(-6) mm long. Calyx 2-3 mm long, elongating to 3-5 mm in fruit, lobes deeply cut to half calyx length, subacute to acute, spreading at fruiting, copiously covered in shortly erect, spreading silky hairs. Flowers subsessile to sessile, white, cream, pale yellow, sometimes striped with blue. Corolla 0.5-1 mm diameter, corolla tube narrowly cylindric, 1-2 mm long, lobes obtuse to subacute; stamens on short filaments, anthers 0.1-0.2 mm, wholly included within corolla tube, anther tips obscured, rarely reaching scales; style 0.1-0.3, stigma capitate. Nutlets 0.9-1.1 x 0.6-0.8 mm, brown-black to grey-black, ovate to ovate-elliptic, distinctly keeled on ventral surface

Similar Taxa

Myosotis brevis is most similar to M. pygmaea which is the only one of the M. pygmaea complex (comprising M. brevis, M. drucei, M. glauca and M. pygmaea) with which M. brevis has been found growing sympatrically. From M. pygmaea, M. brevis is best distinguished by its annual habit, much smaller flowers, 0.5-1 mm in M. brevis, 1.5-3 mm in M. pygmaea.

Flowering

September to April

Flower Colours

Cream,White

Fruiting

October to August

Propagation Technique

Usually a strict annual which in good conditions self sows readily. Easily grown from fresh seed but can be difficult to maintain and dislikes humid conditions.

Threats

A plant of free draining but seasonally moist habitats. It cannot tolerate over shading and so is very vulnerable to taller weed species invading its habitats. Land development is threatening some populations, and has possibly been responsible for the recent loss of others.

Endemic Taxon

Yes

Endemic Genus

No

Endemic Family

No

Where To Buy

Not commercially available

Notes on taxonomy

Myosotis brevis  is a new name and rank for the plant previously treated as M. pygmaea var. minutiflora. A new name at species rank was required for that variety because of the prior existence of another unrelated overseas species M. minutiflora. Myosotis brevis was formalised by de Lange and Barkla in de Lange et al. (2010).

Attribution

Fact Sheet prepared for the NZPCN by P.J. de Lange 14 April 2006. Description by P.J. de Lange and subsequently published in de Lange et al. (2010).

References and further reading

de Lange, P.J.; Heenan, P.B.; Norton, D.A.; Rolfe, J.R.; Sawyer, J.W.D. 2010: Threatened Plants of New Zealand. Canterbury University Press, Christchurch.

This page last updated on 16 Apr 2014