Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Boraginales
Family: Boraginaceae
Subfamily: Boraginoideae
Genus: Myosotis
Species: M. pygmaea
Binominal name: Myosotis pygmaea
Synonyms: Myosotis ramificata, Myosotis pygmaea var. pygmaea
Common name: Pygmy forget me not.
Myosotis pygmaea is an endemic, nationally endangered, native ground-hugging herb that grows on heaths and dry, open, sandy and rocky habitats on from the Coromandel Peninsula, including Hawke's Bay, Castlepoint, South Taranaki Coast and near Cape Palliser. In the South Island, it is found from Nelson south mainly east of the main divide where it occupies turf on the margins of ephemeral wetlands in southern Marlborough and Canterbury but occurs on degraded, seasonally dry, gravel areas in Central Otago. It grows from sea level to 1200 m.a.s.l..
Myosotis pygmaea is a branching, prostrate rosette herb growing to 30cm or more across. composed of small rosettes. The numerous, prostrate, slender side branches are up to 9 cm long with small, dark green, obovate to spathulate, overlapping leaves that are l-3cm long. The leaves often have a coppery-brown tint. Their upper surface and their margins are covered in stiff hairs. They are glabrous beneath.
The plant’s tiny (less than 3 mm diameter) white to cream flowers are also hairy. Flowering occurs early summer to autumn.
The lens cap shows how small this plant is.
Thanks to Wikipedia for text and information: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
