Forget-me-nots are annual to perennial herbs, hairless to short-stiff-hairy. The flowers are borne in terminal, naked, spirally coiled, eventually more or less elongate clusters, or the lower flowers are scattered among the leaves. The fruiting individual flower stalks are erect or spreading. The calyx is 5-lobed, with a separated tube. The corolla is mostly blue, less often white, rarely yellow, widely spreading or broadly funnel-shaped, with an abruptly spreading, evidently 5-lobed limb. The fornices in the middle are usually well developed. The anthers are mostly not protruding. The fruits consist of 4 nutlets, which are attached by a small scar to the broad, low base. They are smooth and shiny, with an evident raised edge all the way around. The genus consists of perhaps 30 or 40 species, of wide distribution in temperate and boreal regions. The name was borrowed from the Old French "ne m'oubliez mye" which was translated from German "Vergissmeinnicht". In 15th century Germany, it was believed that the wearers of the flower would not be forgotten by their lovers. Legend has it that in medieval times, a knight and his lady were walking along the side of a river. He picked a posy of flowers, but due to the weight of his armor he fell into the river. As he was drowning he threw the posy to his loved one and shouted "forget-me-not".
Guide to Identify Presented Species of Genus Myosotis
FLOWERS MOSTLY AT LEAST 5 MM BROAD
M. asiatica – Mountain Forget-me-not Stems hairy, 5-30 cm tall. Flowers bright blue, 4-8 mm wide, with an inner, small, yellow ring. Leaves alternate, lance- to spoon-shaped, tapered to the stalks and stiff-hairy. Moist, open sites, montane to alpine zone.
