Family: Boraginaceae
Forget-Me-Not, Scorpion Grass
Margery Melgaard
Key to Wisconsin Myosotis
- 1a.Hairs on calyx all straight and appressed; calyx lobes triangular, widest at the base; leaf pubescence straight and appressed, the hairs usually less than 1 mm long 2
- 1b.Hairs on base of calyx hooked at the tip, ± spreading; calyx lobes narrowly lanceolate; leaf pubescence spreading, most hairs 1 mm long or greater 3
- 2a.Corolla limb less than 5 mm wide; style distinctly shorter than the nutlets and calyx; calyx lobes about as long as the tube or slightly longer M. laxa
- 2b.Corolla limb 5–10 mm wide; style longer than the nutlets and usually the calyx; calyx lobes shorter than the tube M. scorpioides
- 3a.Corollas white; calyx weakly zygomorphic, 2 or 3 of the calyx lobes shorter than the others M. verna
- 3b.Corollas blue; calyx ± actinomorphic, the lobes equal 4
- 4a.Pedicels shorter than the calyx; corolla 2 mm wide or less; lower leaf surfaces (especially along the veins) and base of stems with some hooked hairs; annuals M. stricta
- 4b.Pedicels as long as the calyx or longer; corolla 2.5–9 mm wide; lower leaf surfaces and stems lacking hooked hairs; perennials or biennials 5
- 5a.Corolla limb ± cupped, 2.5–4 mm wide M. arvensis
- 5b.Corolla limb flat, 5–10 mm wide M. sylvatica
This is an easily recognized genus, but the species are often difficult to tell apart. Care should be taken to press mature corollas neatly to preserve their size, or to make note of the width of fresh limbs. Myosotis discolor Pers. had been attributed to the state, but the specimens are actually M. arvensis. Like M. stricta, it is an inconspicuous annual but lacks hooked hairs on the leaves, has yellow flowers that turn to blue, and lacks flowers near the stem bases.
