Species
Myosotis laingii
Etymology
Myosotis: mouse-eared
Common Name(s)
Waiautoa forget-me-not
Current Conservation Status
2012 - Extinct
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 - Extinct
2004 - Data Deficient
Authority
Myosotis laingii Cheeseman
Family
Boraginaceae
Flora Category
Vascular - Native
Structural Class
Dicotyledonous Herbs other than Composites
Synonyms
None
Distribution
Endemic. South Marlborough. Known only from collections made from terraces adjacent to the Clarence River near Lake Tennyson. There are also a few specimens of it gathered by J. Buchanan from there
Habitat
River terraces, 800-1400m altitude.
Features
Rosette open, leaves few, lamina 80–150 × 10–20mm, elliptic-oblong, very gradually tapering into long-winged petiole, tip acuminate to mucronate; hairs short, fine, appressed, not overlapping, on undersurface similar but fewer, longer on sheathing leaf bases. Lateral branches erect, 150–400mm long, internodes mostly < leaves. Stem leaves few, uppermost c. 25 × 7mm, ± oblong, subacute; hairs as on rosette leaves but longer. Cymes simple, ebracteate, c. 12-flowered; internodes > calyx in fruit; pedicels c. 2mm long. Calyx 5–6mm long, lobes > ½ length, narrow, acute; hairs crowded, on lobes long and flexuous, towards base shorter and some hooked. Corolla apparently yellow (probably white when fresh fading to yellow when dry) 8–10mm diameter, tube funnelform and 5–7mm long, lobes c. 4 × 3mm, ± oblong; filaments fixed about level of scales, anthers c. 2mm long, wholly above scales; style very slender, > 2× calyx in fruit, stigma capitate. Nutlets not seen.
Similar Taxa
Myosotis laeta, M. traversii from which M. laingii differs by having large yellow rather than white flowers with anther tips protruding above petals and few leaves on flower stem.
Flowering
No information available
Flower Colours
Yellow
Fruiting
Specimens with seed are unknown.
Propagation Technique
No information available.
Threats
Myosotis laingii is known only with certainty from a handful of specimens collected between 1860-1912. It has not been collected since.
Endemic Taxon
Yes
Endemic Genus
No
Endemic Family
No
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