Mystery Myosotis

[Mike Ireland]

Bought this Myosotis sp. at a plant fair in the grounds of Harlow Carr last year, from Ron McBeath, I think.  Labelled Myosotis sp. Eyre Mountains.  Any ideas?

[Maggi Young]

Not a million miles away from the furry species shown here, Mike..... reply 50...from David Lyttle
http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?topic=2785.msg66288;topicseen#msg66288

I'm looking to see if I can find an answer to the sp.?? question!!

[Martinr]

Mike, the only suggestion I've had of a name for this plant is Myosotis glabrescens but I've no idea whether it is correct or not. With patience it will make a 25cm cushion but I've never managed to get it to do the 'wow' thing of flowering all over at once. If you figure out how to do it let me know.

[Maggi Young]

I think with fab foliage like that, just some flowers sprinkled over as in Mike's pic is plenty good enough for me... I love it!! 

[Paul T]

Martin,

Personally I think that is already pretty damn WOW for me!! 

[David Lyttle]

Mike,

Its a lovely Myosotis:  Maggi has requested that I identify it which means that if I were to do so definitively I would have to go into some mountain fastness next summer to find and collect it.

From the thumbnail I thought it might be a form of Myosotis pulvinaris but it is quite different. The anthers are held up well above the corolla scales which means it is not Myosotis pulvinaris (or glabrescens). I keyed it out as well as I was able to from the photos and the closest I could get was Myosotis lyallii. There is a record of Myosotis elderi/lyallii from the Eyre Mountains so I am presuming this refers to a similar plant that cannot be Myosotis elderi because of the position of the anthers.  I think I would be happy enough to call Myosotis lyallii until more information is available. There are a number of undescribed Myosotis sps present in the Southern part of the South Island notably the plant that has been distributed as Myosotis cheesemanii but is not. There is also a plant described an illustrated in Metcalfs book 'The cultivation of New Zealand Plants' as Myosotis oreophila which appears to be a form of Myosotis macrantha so some of the references are not particularly helpful

I am posting a picture of Myosotis pulvinaris from the Remarkables taken this summer and another small Myosotis taken further south but east of the Eyre Mountains for comparison. Note the position of the anthers.

[Ewelina Wajgert]

We had the same under Myosotis pulvinaris

[Maggi Young]

Its a lovely Myosotis:  Maggi has requested that I identify it which means that if I were to do so definitively I would have to go into some mountain fastness next summer to find and collect it.

How, David, I was not that demanding..... I merely suggested that you might be the very chap to help.... and you have!!       

[mark smyth]

WOW lovely Myosotis

[David Lyttle]

Maggi,

I am intrigued by this particular plant; I would love to see it growing in the wild. The elderi/lyallii record from the Eyre Mountains suggests some one found a few plants that were not flowering and could not identify it conclusively. Often when I get home and look at my photos I see plants that I wish I had looked at more closely at the time. I have never seen anything quite like Mike's specimen. It seems to form a cushion though it is not tight like that of pulvinaris.  It may have a softer life in cultivation. Myosotis lyallii is not necessarily a cushion; the illustration in Mark and Adams shows a rosette with decumbent stems.

[Maggi Young]

It may have a softer life in cultivation.

Ah, yes, that is a distinct possibility, of course, which could make ID yet more tricky. It is a very fine plant, that's for sure.

[t00lie]

What a beauty !.

Has me puzzled as well.

As David has pointed out ,(and your pics clearly show Mike), the anthers protrude well beyond the corolla which is one of the keys for M.lyallii.

Mark and Adams mention that in lyallii the fine hairs on the upper surface and margins are sparse or absent beneath --a closer inspection in that respect might help .

However Myosotis lyallii  i've come across in Fiordland have a rosette growth ,(rather than a cushion) ,with trailing flowering branches ,which to my eye makes it rather untidy in appearance and if i remember correctly the flowers are not singular as in your pics Mike.

While i don't have Davids expertise i tend to think at this stage it is a M. sps not named yet.

Cheers dave. 

 

[Mike Ireland]

Hi All
Having just read the latest comments regarding this plant ID I thought I had better take some extra photos.  It looks like the reverse of the leaf is hairy like the surface.  The plant has been in an alpine house but most of the glass on the sides is removed to allow free air movement, the plants do not get "mollycodlled" although the roof glass keeps the rain off.

[Maggi Young]

I am pretty sure that it would not appreciate the rain in the UK summer, winter   Mike, so your regime is doingit proud... what a super plant it is and your excellent closeup shots show it very clearly. Thanks!

[Martinr]

I don't think it minds summer rain. I've always found the only way to keep it happy in summer is lots of overhead watering...winter wet, however, might be fatal.