forget-me-nots

genus Myosotis

Member of borage family (family Boraginaceae)
borages (order Boraginales)
dicots (class Magnoliopsida)
flowering plants (subphylum Angiospermae)

Except for extremely rare examples that I don't expect to encounter, there are no other wild species of this genus in the bay area.

Forget-me-nots generally develop in raceme-like cymes, coiled, then ± open in age. Thus, individuals of the same species can look very different from each other.

Key features:

calyx tube hairs
corolla size
leaf length, width

broadleaf forget-me-not
Myosotis latifolia

calyx tube hairs at least some spreading, some or all hooked
corolla 5–10 mm diameter, blue (but pink when young)
leaves roughly 2–3x wider than corollas, roughly 2–3x longer than wide

photo

changing forget-me-not
Myosotis discolor

calyx tube hairs at least some spreading, some or all hooked
corolla 1–3 mm diameter, often with different colors for each flower.
leaves sparse, generally 1–4 cm long, 2–8 mm wide
Santa Cruz range.

photo

bay forget-me-not
Myosotis laxa

calyx tube hairs appressed, not hooked at tip
corolla 2–5 mm diameter, blue (but yellow/cream when young)
leaves 1.5–8 cm long, 3–15 mm wide
small, narrow leaves.

photo

wood forget-me-not
Myosotis sylvatica

appears in Calflora, but Jepson says that all identifications in California are mistaken.

Toxicity of forget-me-not (Myosotis spp.):
0 – Non-toxic.

1 observed taxon / 3 unobserved taxons / 1 key

Chris’s observations: 53 (49 are research grade)

Locations:

El Corte de Madera OSP: 6
Purisima Creek Redwoods OSP: 6
Sam McDonald CP: 5
Butano SP: 3
Mt. Madonna SP: 3
Bear Creek Redwoods OSP: 2
DeLaveaga Park, Santa Cruz: 2
Garin RP: 2
Henry Cowell Redwoods SP - Fall Creek Unit: 2
Portola Redwoods SP: 2
Russian Ridge OSP: 2
Sibley Volcanic RP: 2
Skyline Ridge OSP: 2
Wilder Ranch SP: 2
Windy Hill OSP: 2
Alpine Rd.
Big Basin SP
Coal Creek OSP
Foothills Nature Preserve, Palo Alto
Joaquin Miller Park, Oakland
La Honda Creek OSP
Nisene Marks SP
Pescadero Creek CP
Sanborn CP
Wunderlich CP

Months:

Jan.: 1
Feb.: 1
Mar.: 3
Apr.: 4
May: 11
Jun.: 15
Jul.: 10
Aug.: 3
Sep.: 1
Oct.: 1
Nov.: 1
Dec.: 2

For more details, use advanced search.

Not all sites include this taxon:

genus Myosotis → iNaturalist – Calflora – Jepson eFlora
not yet listed → FNA

Bay Area species: iNaturalist – Calflora