The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network

Species

Myosotis chaffeyorum

Etymology

Myosotis: mouse-eared

Common Name(s)

forget-me-not

Current Conservation Status

2012 - Threatened - Nationally Critical

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 Critical

Qualifiers

2012 - DP, RR, Sp
2009 - DP

Authority

Myosotis chaffeyorum C.A.Lehnebach

Family

Boraginaceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Herbs other than Composites

Synonyms

None - first described in 2012

Distribution

Endemic. South Island (North West Nelson (Kahurangi National Park))

Habitat

Montane in closed red beech (Nothofagus fusca) forest at the bases of limestone cliff faces

Features

Plant perennial, 14–46 mm tall. Rosette leaves 6–9, lamina orbicular, 8.1–8.9 × 7.7–9.2 mm, apex mucronate, mucro c.1 mm long. Leaf indumentum strigose, hairs on upper and lower surface sparsely distributed, non overlapping, appressed and antrorse. Hairs on leaf margin appressed. Petiole well-defined, 11.9–13.5 × 0.2–0.3 mm; hairs appressed, antrorse, sparsely distributed. Stem light brown, decumbent, not rooting at nodes, 59–100 × 0.3–0.5 mm. Stem hairs appressed as for leaves, hairs 0.2–0.6 mm long. Stem leaves elliptic or orbicular, 7.2–8.8 × 4.4–6.2 mm, mucronulate, shortly petiolate or sessile towards distal end of stem. Indumentum as for rosette leaves. Calyx lobes lanceolate, 1.5–2.0 mm long, hairs in upper half of the lobe only. Fruiting calyx 2.3 – 3 mm long; hairs appressed, straight, overlapping, not uniform in size. Flowers borne along the trailing stem, each usually opposite to a leaf. Pedicel at fruiting 1.5–3.0 mm long. Corolla white with yellow scales, 3.7–4.0 mm across. Corolla lobes obovate, not overlapping, 1.4–1.8 × 1.2–1.6 mm, apex rounded or irregularly notched. Corolla tube 2 – 2.2 mm long. Stamens included in the corolla, anther appendage slightly above the scales. Filament attached below scales. Anther 0.5 × 0.2 mm. Style 1.8 mm long, stigma clavate. Nutlet smooth, light brown, ovoid to ellipsoid, 1.2 × 0.7–0.8 mm, ventral surface rounded.

Similar Taxa

Myosotis chaffeyorum can be confused with M. matthewsii (a North Island (Northland)) endemic and M. spathulata. It differs from Myosotis spathulata differs from Myosotis by its well-defined, slender petiole; appressed, straight hairs on stem, petiole, leaf lamina and margin; and by its decumbent stem not rooting at nodes. From M. matthewsii it differs its strigose indumentum on leaf upper surface; smaller flowers (3.7– 4.0 mm across vs 5.0–8.0 mm across); stamens included in the corolla tube and by the fruiting calyx borne on a shorter pedicel (1.5–3.0 mm vs 4.6 – 8.4 mm)

Flowering

February

Fruiting

February

Propagation Technique

Unknown

Threats

Myosotis chaffeyorum is currently known from five populations (four on protected land) and very few individuals (< 250) for this reason it has been listed as Nationally Critical by Lehnebach (2012)

Endemic Taxon

Y

Endemic Genus

N

Endemic Family

N

This page last updated on 3 Sep 2013