Myosotis capitata

Myosotis capitata plants are small rosettes that may cluster together into tufts or loose clumps. The rosette leaves have petioles 8–25 mm long. The rosette leaf blades are 13–48 mm long by 4–19 mm wide (length: width ratio 1.5–4.2: 1), elliptic, oblanceolate or narrowly obovate, widest at or above the middle, with an obtuse apex. The upper surface of the leaf is densely covered in long silky forward-facing hairs, while on the lower surface the hairs are shorter, fewer and also forward-facing. Each rosette has 2–7 ascending to erect, branched, ebracteate inflorescences that are up to 37 cm long. The cauline leaves on the lower part of the inflorescence are similar to the rosette leaves, and decrease in size toward the tip. There can be up to 150 flowers condensed near the top of each inflorescence. Although the flowers are borne on short pedicels, they do not have bracts. The calyx is 2–4 mm long at flowering and 4–6 mm long at fruiting, lobed to half or more of its length, and densely covered in long, forward-facing silky hairs. The corolla is deep blue, up to 10 mm in diameter, with a cylindrical tube, petals that are rounded and flat, and small yellow scales alternating with the petals. The anthers are partly exserted, with the tips only surpassing the scales. …

Myosotis capitata is a forget-me-not endemic to the Auckland Islands and Campbell Island, New Zealand. On the Auckland Islands, it has been collected on Auckland Island, Adams Island and Ewing Island. It is found from sea level up to altitudes of 630m, on the shore edge, rocks, bluffs or cliffs in exposed fellfield or banks with sparse vegetation.

Myosotis capitata Hook.f. is in the plant family Boraginaceae and was described in 1844 by Joseph Dalton Hooker. After its description, Hooker expanded the circumscription of M. capitata to include plants from Rakiura / Stewart Island, New Zealand. Joseph Beattie Armstrong described a new variety, M. capitata var. albiflora J.B.Armstr., for the Stewart Island plants and other similar fleshy, white-flowered plants from southern South Island, New Zealand, for which the name M. rakiura L.B.Moore is now used. Myosotis capitata can be distinguished from M. rakiura in its blue corollas, lack of retrorse trichomes anywhere on the plant, including the underside of the leaves, and partially exserted anthers. The type specimen of Myosotis capitata is lodged at Kew Herbarium. The specific epithet, capitata, derives from the Latin, caput/capitis, meaning "head" and hence describes the plant as having its flowers arranged in tightly compacted, head-like inflorescences.