New NZ Myosotis Species to be described

[Maggi Young]

Posted by  Heidi Meudt on the  New Zealand Plant Radiation Network page of Facebook.
RE:  https://nzprn.otago.ac.nz/NZPRN/WebHome

" Here's a sneak peak at one of the forget-me-nots we collected in January, which is a new species that will require a scientific name... Want to suggest a name? I'll post more on 11 Feb to let you know how. " 

    te_papa  Celebrating #WorldWetlandsDay with an unnamed #myosotis known from #southern #newzealand #bogs. From the 11th February, you can help name this species as part of the #youcalledmewhat exhibition interactive. Please see our website for details. Photo by Botany Research Scientist, Heidi Meudt.



from the website : New Zealand Plant Radiation Network (NZPRN) wiki  .... for.....  information on research being conducted on species radiation in the New Zealand flora.

"The NZPRN is open to everyone interested in plant evolutionary biology. Please contact one of the people of the organising committee if you would like to join. New NZPRN members will automatically receive a login so that they can contribute to the wiki. If you are an existing member of the NZPRN you can register for a wiki login here.
If you have any comments or questions about the wiki, please do not hesitate to e-mail nzprn.webmaster@anatomy.otago.ac.nz.
What is species radiation?
What are plant species radiations, and why are they important? Understanding how global plant biodiversity arose and is maintained requires an understanding of plant species radiation - a process of diversification that produces morphologically and ecologically distinct, but genetically similar, species from a single founding population. Species radiations are a feature of many world floras including that of New Zealand. Developing our understanding of species radiation will help us to understand the nature, evolutionary potential and adaptability of our flora to environmental change. "

[ian mcdonald]

Myosotis palustris?

[Maggi Young]

I doubt it - that is a synonym for several existing species - though it seems apt.

[Lewis Potter]

Translate New Zealand directly into Latin so Myosotis nova-zealandia or Myosotis novae-zealandii could be good ones.

[Hoy]

Maybe Myosotis uliginosa is better than palustris? Or - M. humida

[Lewis Potter]

Myosotis micrantha or perhaps Myosotis parviflora. The things I think of when on a train home earlier. Hehe. 

[Hoy]

Do they have only one flower? Then Myosotis uniflora could do! Red leaves?   M. rubrophyllum 

[Maggi Young]

Here is the link  telling how to  submit a name ....
  http://www.tepapa.govt.nz/WhatsOn/exhibitions/Pages/YouCalledMeWhat.aspx#terms

"Help us name a new species

Flower Suggest a name for this forget-me-not flowering plant. We’ll seriously consider your idea. You can make a submission in the exhibition or by email.

Email your suggestion to:

youcalledmewhat@tepapa.govt.nz

Please include why you chose the name.

This forget-me-not will be described as a new species by Te Papa scientist
Heidi Meudt in collaboration with other New Zealand botanists. "

Something tells me they are just expecting  fun, NZ related names - but hey ho, it was a good idea to gain some publicity for their project - and it's enabled us to learn a bit about this neat new species.

[Lesley Cox]

We already have a Myosotis uniflora, a little pale yellow job from the South Island river beds. It hybridizes with the Larger, blue M. capitata from the islands of the Southern Ocean and there are some super little cushions and mats with pink/lavender flowers as a result.

[Anthony Darby]

Perhaps I should go to this and ask? 

Lecture on research into New Zealand's native forget-me-nots at Auckland's War Memorial Museum on Wednesday 3rd August at 7 p.m.

[Anthony Darby]

Not a link that works to take us to info on the talk , Anthony.

I've copied the poster and modified my post.

[Lesley Cox]

Yes, you should go to it Anthony. You could also ask about the status of what we (in the south anyway) know as Myosotis cheesemannii, which has brown leaves but there is doubt that this name is correct. It is growable and is sometimes available from Hokonui Alpines. Also should mention of course that M. uniflora and capitata don't hybridize in the wild; their habitats are way different and distant but do so in cultivation.

[David Lyttle]

Two points about Myosotis taxonomy; the entity that was the subject of Heidi Meudt's revision and request for a name has been known to Otago botanists for years. It is probably the species illustrated as Myosotis tenericaulis in the first edition of Mark and Adams New Zealand Alpine Plants (1973). The name Myosotis tenericaulis has been applied to it erroneously by myself and others until the situation was clarified when we were compiling the photographs for "Above the Treeline". See photo 1

The entity sold by Hokonui Alpines as Myosotis cheesemanii originally came from Mt Hamilton in the Takatimu Mountains. The name Myosotis cheesemanii is misapplied. It is similar to an entity known as Myosotis "Mossburn" which is found growing on ultramafic substrates on West Dome an outlier of the Eyre Mountains directly to the north. Whether the Hokonui plant is the same as Myosotis "Mossburn " is not known unless Heidi has sorted them out. For Myosotis "Mossburn"  see photo 2.

The true Myosotis cheesemanii is a rare plant and is found only in a few localities in Central Otago. Here is a photo (3) of it growing in its type locality on the Pisa Range

[David Lyttle]

As an after thought here is a photo of Myosotis "Mt Hamilton"  growing in my garden that was purchased from Hokonui Alpines.

Hope this clarifies things for everybody.

[Maggi Young]

Certainly shows the variation in this charming plant, David!