The New Zealand Plant Conservation Network

Species

Myosotis albosericea

Etymology

Myosotis: mouse-eared

Common Name(s)

Yellow 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
2004 - Threatened - Nationally Critical

Qualifiers

2012 - OL, Sp
2009 - OL, Sp

Authority

Myosotis albosericea Hook f.

Family

Boraginaceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Native

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Herbs other than Composites

Synonyms

None

Distribution

Endemic. South Island, Central Otago, southern Dunstan Range.

Habitat

Alpine. Amongst schist boulders in shade of rock tors.

Features

Tufted, perennial herb, producing one or more white-hairy rosettes. Leaves numerous, narrow-spathulate, 30 x 30 mm, apex sub acute, all parts covered in silky silvery-white hairs all of one type, uniformly stiff, straight, appressed, imbricating so as to hide leaf surface entirely. Lateral branches few, erect, up to 150 mm. Stem leaves sparse, upper ones sessile, narrow-oblong, 6 x 2 mm, apex sub acute. Inflorescence a simple, terminal cyme. Calyx 3 mm long, lobes > half length, narrow, acute. Corolla yellow, 5 mm diam., tube 4-5 mm, flaring toward top, corolla lobes 2.5 x 1.5 mm, oblong, filaments short, anther-tips below to just above scales; style >> calyx in fruit,. Nutlets ovate, pointed and keeled, 1.7-2.1 x 1-1.1 mm long.

Similar Taxa

A very distinctive species whose grey hairy foliage, branches, inflorescence stems and large yellow flowers readily distinguish it from all other New Zealand Myosotis species.

Flowering

November - January

Flower Colours

Yellow

Fruiting

January - April

Propagation Technique

Difficult. Should not be removed from the wild.

Threats

As far as is known this species has always been confined to a small portion of the Dunstan Range above the Kawarau River, near Cromwell. At present just the one population is known (and in fact this may be the same population as that discovered originally by John Buchanan and James Hector). That population has been regularly monitored for the greater part of 30 years, and seems to be stable. Nevertheless because the species is known from just the one site, within an area of < 1 ha it qualifies as Nationally Critical.

Endemic Taxon

Yes

Endemic Genus

No

Endemic Family

No

This page last updated on 16 Apr 2014