■ ■
MYOSOTIS ALPESTRIS. MOUNTAIN SCORPION-
GRASS.
MYOSOTIS alpestris ; foliis oblongo-lanceolatis hirsutis racemis brevibus compactis, “ pedicellis in
fructu patentibus calyce quinquefido clauso paulo longioribus” (Lehm.), corollæ limbo
explanato tubo longiore.
MYOSOTIS alpestris. Schultz Fl. Austr. n. 788. Lehmann Asperif. p. 86. Hook. Fl. Scot.
P. I. p. 66.
MYOSOTIS rupicola. Smith Engl. Bot. t. 2559.
MYOSOTIS odorata. Poiret in Encycl. Bot. ml. 4, p. 54.
Class a n d O r d e r . PENTANDRIA MONOGYNIA.
[N a t u r a l O r d e r . BORAGINEiE, Juss., Decand., Brown.]
G e n . Ch a r . Calyx quinque-fidus. Corolla hypocrateriformis, segmentis obtusissimis, fauce squamis brevibus
conniventibus clausa.
G e n . Ch a r . Calyx five-cleft. Corolla hypocrateriform, the segments very obtuse, its orifice closed with
short connivent scales.
R a d ix sublonge repensa perennis, lignosa, fibroso-
tomentosa, fusca.
Ca ü LES non raro plures ex eadem radice, palmarès,
erecti, teretes, pilis patentibus hirsuti, simplices.
Fo lia RADICALIA numerosa, longissime petiolata,
oblonga, obtusa; caulina alterna, remota, pa-
tentia, oblongo-lanceolata, acutissima nervo
dorso prominente instructa omnia, pilis scabrius-
cula.
Flores speciosi, pulcherrime cserulei, secundi, racemosi.
Ra c em i terminales, conjugati, nuncbasicompositi; pri-
mum brèves, densi, demum elongati, et tune
pedicelli bifariam alternatim dispositi: Pedun-
culi Pedicellique pilis appressis.
Ca l y x quinquefidus, basi pilis patentibus hamosis,
apice pilis magis appressis, obsiti.
Corollze tubus calycis longitudine, cylindricus, pallidus,
limbus tubo longior, quinquepartitus, segmentis
obovato-rotundatis horizontaliter patentibus.
Fruc tum perfectum non vidi.
Root creeping to some distance, perennial, woody,
downy with fibres, brownv
Stems not »infrequently many springing from the same,
root, about a span high, erect, rounded, rough,
with patent hairs, simple.
Ra d ic a l lea v e s numerous, borne upon long footstalks,
oblong, obtuse; those o f the stem alternate, remote,
patent, between oblong and lanceolate,
very acute, all having a prominent nerve on their
backs, rough with hairs.
Flowers showy, o f a delicate blue colour, secund,
growing in racemes.
Racemes terminal, conjugate, sometimes compound at
their bases; at first short, crowded, afterwards
elongated, and finally dividing into bifarious
and alternate pedicels: Peduncles and Pedicels
clothed with appressed hairs.
Ca ly x quinquefid, invested with patent hooked hairs at
its base, with more appressed hairs at its points.
Corolla having its tube o f the same length as the calyx,
cylindrical, o f a paler hue, its limb longer than
the tube, quinquepartite, the segments obovato-
rotund spreading horizontally.
Fr u it I have never seen perfect.
Fig. 1. Portion of the raceme with a single flower not quite expanded. Fig. 2. Expanded flower.
Fig. 3. Raceme of abortive fruits.
Notwithstanding the discordant opinions which have by different botanists been entertained relative to the
other species of this genus, they all agree as to the identity of the present one, though of none is the character so
difficult to be defined in few words.
The alpine situations to which this plant seems to be confined, and its general habit, at once point it out as a
distinct species. The root is perennial and creeping, and it sends forth a profusion of long spathulate leaves,
which form a dense tuft, even after the withering and disappearance of the stem and cauline leaves. These stems
are short, and, comparatively with those of the other Scorpion Grasses, stout; clothed, as well as the leaves,
with rather long patent hairs. The calyx has its lower hairs or bristles patent and hooked. The corolla is large,
of a bright-blue colour, and the diameter of the limb is greater than the length of the tube. I t may be remarked,
in most of these particulars; that there is a striking resemblance between the characters of this plant and those of
the Myosotis sylvatica of Lehmann and of Hooker’s Flora Scotica ; but when to these we shall add the shortness
and density of the raceme in M . alpestris, approaching, as it does, even to the appearance of a corymb, and the
greater size of the flowers which compose it, though belonging to an individual of so much more diminutive stature
than the M . sylvatica, we shall at once perceive a considerable difference between the two plants. This difference
of proportion in the racemes and pedicels is equally obvious after inflorescence; and the calyx of the Mountain
.Scorpion-grass also .appears much less closed. But 1 speak only from an examination of abortive calyces; for
neither on its native Alps, nor in a state of cultivation, have I ever seen it to produce perfect fruit; so that my
description of that part is consequently taken from Lehmann.