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Close-up of flower
Myosotis scorpioides
Common Name: Forget-me-nots
Family:
Boraginaceae
Description: An invasive, colony forming perennial herb
Leaves: 3-8 cm long and 0.5-2 cm wide, lower leaves oblong lance-shaped, upper leaves oblong or oval. Leaves alternate and slightly hairy.
Flowers: Small prolific blue flowers (5-petaled) with a yellow center, tube shaped and abruptly flared at tip
Seed: Seeds are contained within nutlets
Stem: Calyx hairs pressed firmly against the stem
Branching Pattern: Sprawling vine-like ground cover; divergent branches that uncoil as flowers bloom; alternate arrangement of leaves
Height: 10-60 cm
Conditions/Habitat/Kind of Forest: Stream banks and shores, swamps, wet depressions in forests. Prefers a sunny position.
Range: Throughout USA and Canada
Conservation Status-US/ World Wide: Invasive
Uses (Human): Used in the treatment of bronchitis and whooping cough
References:
Chadde, Steve W. A Great Lakes Wetland Flora (2nd ed.). Michigan: PocketFlora Press, 2002.
Invasive Plant Atlas of New England. 2004. University of Connecticut. Accessed: November 29, 2005. <http://webapps.lib.uconn.edu/ipane/browsing.cfm?descriptionid=75>
Peterson, Roger Tory, and Margaret McKenny. Peterson Field Guides: A field guide to Wildflowers of Northeastern and Northcentral North America. New York: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1968.
Plants for a Future. June 2004. Accessed: November 29, 2005. <http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/cgi-bin/arr_html?Myosotis+scorpioides&CAN=COMIND>
Skye Flora. 2005. Accessed: November 29, 2005. <http://www.plant-identification.co.uk/skye/boraginaceae/myosotis-scorpioides.htm>
Thieret, John W. National Audubon Society Field Guide to Wildflowers: Eastern Region (Rev. Ed.). New York: Alfred A. Knopf Inc., 2001.