Myosotis antarctica

Myosotis antarctica is a species of flowering plant in the family Boraginaceae, native to Campbell Island of New Zealand and southern Chile.[2] Joseph Dalton Hooker described the species in his 19th century work Flora Antarctica. Plants of this species of forget-me-not are perennial and have white or blue corollas. It is one of two native species of Myosotis in the New Zealand subantarctic islands, the other being M. capitata, which also has blue corollas.

Myosotis antarctica

Naturally Uncommon (NZ TCS)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Boraginales
Family: Boraginaceae
Genus: Myosotis
Species:
M. antarctica
Binomial name
Myosotis antarctica

Taxonomy and Etymology

After its description in 1844, others expanded the circumscription of M. antarctica to include plants from mainland New Zealand. Current usage of the name is restricted to plants from Campbell Island and Chile, with morphologically similar mainland plants referred to M. drucei, M. pygmaea and M. brevis.[4] The type specimen of Myosotis antarctica is lodged at Kew Herbarium.[5]

The specific epithet, antarctica, derives from its presence on the New Zealand subantarctic islands.

Myosotis antarctica was shown to be a part of the monophyletic southern hemisphere lineage of Myosotis in phylogenetic analyses of standard DNA sequencing markers (nuclear ribosomal DNA and chloroplast DNA regions).[6][7] The sequences of M. antarctica grouped with mainland New Zealand species that are morphologically similar to it, including M. pygmaea, M. drucei and M. brevis, rather than grouping with the other native subantarctic species, M. capitata.[6]

Description

Myosotis antarctica forms small rosettes with prostrate flowering stems. Leaves are spoon-shaped and hairy. There are often several multi-flowered inflorescences per plant. Flowers are small, and can be either white or blue.[2] M. antarctica has M. australis type pollen.[8][9]

The chromosome number of M. antarctica is unknown.

It flowers from November to March and fruits from December to March.[2]

Distribution and Habitat

Joseph Hooker collected the type specimen of this species from Campbell Island, and it has been recently collected there as well.[10] The species has also been collected in southern Chile.[11]

Conservation Status

The species is listed as At Risk - Naturally Uncommon on the most recent assessment (2017-2018) of the New Zealand Threatened Classification for plants. It also has the qualifiers "DP" (Data Poor), "Sp" (Sparse) and "TO" (Threatened Overseas).[1]

References
  1. Lange, Peter J. de; Rolfe, Jeremy R.; Barkla, John W.; Courtney, Shannel P.; Champion, Paul D.; Perrie, Leon R.; Beadel, Sarah M.; Ford, Kerry A.; Breitwieser, Ilse; Schönberger, Ines; Hindmarsh-Walls, Rowan (May 2018). "Conservation status of New Zealand indigenous vascular plants, 2017" (PDF). New Zealand Threat Classification Series. 22: 1–86. OCLC 1041649797.
  2. "Myosotis antarctica | New Zealand Plant Conservation Network". nzpcn.org.nz. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  3. Hooker, J.D. (1844) The botany of the Antarctic voyage of H.M. discovery ships Erebus and Terror in the Years 1839-1843 :under the command of Captain Sir James Clark Ross: 1: 57
  4. Moore, L.B. "Boraginaceae. In 'Flora of New Zealand'. (Ed. HH Allan) Vol. 1, pp. 806–833". (Government Printer: Wellington, New Zealand) floraseries.landcareresearch.co.nz. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  5. "Myosotis antarctica Hook.f." apps.kew.org. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  6. Meudt, Heidi M.; Prebble, Jessica M.; Lehnebach, Carlos A. (1 May 2015). "Native New Zealand forget-me-nots (Myosotis, Boraginaceae) comprise a Pleistocene species radiation with very low genetic divergence". Plant Systematics and Evolution. 301 (5): 1455–1471. doi:10.1007/s00606-014-1166-x. ISSN 2199-6881.
  7. Winkworth, Richard C; Grau, Jürke; Robertson, Alastair W; Lockhart, Peter J (1 August 2002). "The origins and evolution of the genus Myosotis L. (Boraginaceae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 24 (2): 180–193. doi:10.1016/S1055-7903(02)00210-5. ISSN 1055-7903.
  8. Meudt, HM (1 October 2016). "Pollen morphology and its taxonomic utility in the Southern Hemisphere bracteate-prostrate forget-me-nots (Myosotis, Boraginaceae)". New Zealand Journal of Botany. 54 (4): 475–497. doi:10.1080/0028825X.2016.1229343. ISSN 0028-825X.
  9. "Myosotis antarctica pollen". collections.tepapa.govt.nz. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  10. Prebble, Jessie (8 January 2014). "Subantarctic forget-me-not adventures". Te Papa’s Blog. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
  11. Zuloaga, Fernando O; Morrone, Osvaldo; Belgrano, Manuel J. (2008). Catálogo de las plantas vasculares del Cono Sur : (Argentina, Sur de Brasil, Chile, Paraguay y Uruguay). St. Louis, Mo.: Missouri Botanical Garden Press, Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. ISBN 978-1-930723-70-2. OCLC 294820637.
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