Classification
Class
Magnoliopsida Brongn.
Family
Boraginaceae
Genus
Myosotis L.
 Subordinate Taxa
 Nomenclature
Scientific Name:
Myosotis australis R.Br., Prodr. Fl. Nov. Holland. 495 (1810)
Synonymy:
Type citation: ‘(J.D.) v.v.’ [J. = Port Jackson, D. = Tasmania, v.v. = visa viva, seen alive.] Holotype: Banks of Paterson River, Oct. 1804, R.Brown s.n. (lecto: BM 000939408!*, designated by C.A.Lehnebach, Tuhinga 23: 18 (2012)).
  • = Myosotis australis var. lytteltonensis Laing & A.Wall, Trans. & Proc. Roy. Soc. New Zealand 55: 442 (1924)
Type citation: ‘Cliffs above Lyttelton, Governor’s Bay, and Sumner Road.’ Holotype: Mount Pleasant, Lyttelton, Nov. 1917, Robt. M. Laing (lecto: CHR 17637!*, designated by L. B. Moore in H. H. Allan (ed.), Fl. New Zealand 1: 819 (1961); isolecto: CHR 17636!).
  • = Myosotis lytteltonensis (Laing & A.Wall) de Lange in de Lange et al., Threat. Pl. New Zealand 438-439 (2010)
  • = Myosotis mooreana Lehnebach, PhytoKeys 16: 59 (2012)
Type: NEW ZEALAND. South Island, north-western Nelson: Kahurangi National Park, Cobb Reservoir, alt. ~867 m, 6 Jan. 2011, C.A.Lehnebach & A.Zeller s.n. (holo: WELT SP092756/A!*).
Etymology:
The epithet is derived from the Latin australis (south, southern) and refers to the geographical distribution of this species in Australia (where the type was collected).
 Description

Rosette usually single; lf lamina c. = petiole; hairs spreading and uniform, often hooked, fine, crowded, abaxially sparser, retrorse. Lateral branches to 30 cm long, ascending; internodes usually = or > lvs. Cymes mostly ebracteate; internodes between frs > calyx; pedicels short. Calyx hairs mostly short but some longer and/or hooked. Corolla white or yellow; tube = or > calyx; filaments very short; anther tips barely reaching scales.

[From: Webb et al. (1988) Flora of New Zealand. Volume 4.]

 Biostatus
Indigenous (Non-endemic)
Number of subspecific taxa in New Zealand within Myosotis australis R.Br.
CategoryNumber
Indigenous (Non-endemic)1
Total1
 Bibliography
Brown, R. 1810: Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van-Diemen. Johnson, London.
de Lange, P.J.; Heenan, P.B.; Norton, D.A.; Rolfe, J.R.; Sawyer, J. 2010: Threatened plants of New Zealand. Canterbury University Press, Christchurch.
de Lange, P.J.; Norton, D.A.; Courtney, S.P.; Heenan, P.B.; Barkla, J.W.; Cameron, E.K.; Hitchmough, R.; Townsend, A.J. 2009: Threatened and uncommon plants of New Zealand (2008 revision). New Zealand Journal of Botany 47: 61–96. [as Myosotis australis var. lytteltonensis Laing & A.Wall] [Nationally Critical]
de Lange, P.J.; Norton, D.A.; Heenan, P.B.; Courtney, S.P.; Molloy, B.P.J.; Ogle, C.C.; Rance, B.D. 2004: Threatened and uncommon plants of New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Botany 42(1): 45–76. [as Myosotis australis var. lytteltonensis Laing & A.Wall]
de Lange, P.J.; Rolfe, J.R.; Barkla J.W.; Courtney, S.P.; Champion, P.D.; Perrie, L.R.; Beadel, S.N.; Ford, K.A.; Breitwieser, I.; Schönberger, I.; Hindmarsh-Walls, R.; Heenan, P.B.; Ladley, K. 2018: Conservation status of New Zealand indigenous vascular plants, 2017. New Zealand Threat Classification Series. No. 22. [Nationally Critical; Not Threatened]
de Lange, P.J.; Rolfe, J.R.; Champion, P.D.; Courtney, S.P.; Heenan, P.B.; Barkla, J.W.; Cameron, E.K.; Norton, D.A.; Hitchmough, R.A. 2013: Conservation status of New Zealand indigenous vascular plants, 2012. New Zealand Threat Classification Series 3. Department of Conservation, Wellington. [Nationally Critical; Not Threatened]
Laing, R.M.; Wall, A. 1924: The Vegetation of Banks Peninsula: Supplement 1. Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand 55: 438–444.
Lehnebach, C.A. 2012: Two new species of forget-me-nots (Myosotis, Boraginaceae) from New Zealand. PhytoKeys 16: 53–64.
Meudt, H.M.; Thorsen, M.J.; Prebble, J.M. 2020: Taxonomic revision of the Myosotis australis group (Boraginaceae) native to Australia, New Zealand and New Guinea. Australian Systematic Botany 33: 477–524.