Plate 146.— MYOSOTIDIUM NOBILE. 



Family BORAGINACEiE.] [Genus MYOSOTIDIUM, Hook. 



Myosotidium nobile, Uonl: Bot. Mmj. t. 5137 ; Cheesem. Man. N.Z. Fl. 472. 



Myosotidium nobile, or the " Chatham Islands lily," as it is often absurdly called, 

 is from a scientific point of view the most interesting plant found on the Chatham 

 Islands. Its peculiar habit and appearance, so widely different from that of other 

 members of the Boraginacew ; its beauty as a garden -plant ; and, above all, the 

 remarkable fact that such a distinct genus should be confined to the tiny group of 

 the Chatham Islands, where it is far removed from any near allies, and where no key 

 exists as to its pedigree and past development ; are facts which necessarily involve 

 many questions of importance. We are led to inquire how its presence and that of 

 other endemic plants can be best explained ; what changes in the past geography 

 of the islands seem to be indicated, and at what geological period ; and what 

 bearing such considerations have on the previous history of the New Zealand flora 

 as a whole. 



Myosotidium first became known through specimens cultivated in England, and 

 was originally described by Sir J. D. Hooker under the name of Cynoglossum nobile 

 "Gardener's Chronicle," 1858, p. 240). It soon became apparent, however, that it 

 constituted a separate genus, and in 1859 it was described and figured as such in the 

 " Botanical Magazine " (t. 5137). The first botanist to collect Myosotidium in its native 

 habitat was Mr. H. H. Travers, who visited the Chathams in 1863 for the purpose 

 of examining the vegetation, which up to that time was only known through a few 

 plants collected by DiefEenbach in 1840. Baron Mueller's little book on the 

 " Vegetation of Chatham Islands," which was based on Mr. Travers's collections, 

 contains an excellent detailed description of the plant. Since that time it has been 

 observed by most visitors to the group, and has also become well known in 

 cultivation in the Dominion. 



All old residents of the Chatham Islands agree in stating that Myosotidium 

 was originally an abundant coastal plant, usually growing in sandy soil just above 

 high- water mark. The late Mr. A. Shand, so well known from his researches into 

 the language and traditional history of the Moriori race, assured me that in several 

 localities it once formed an unbroken line for miles together on the seashore ; and 

 the veteran botanist of the islands, Mr. F. A. D. Cox, makes a similar statement. 

 Mr. H. H. Travers, speaking of the coast-line near Waitangi, says, " On the beach 

 the Myosotidium nobile grew with rank luxuriance where not invaded by the pigs, 

 which fed upon the roots" (Trans. N.Z. Inst, i (1869), 176). At the present time, 

 however, it has become rare in the wild state, and only exists in a few scattered 

 localities, which are gradually becoming fewer in number. Its decrease is due 

 partly to sheep, which feed on the leaves, and partly, as mentioned above, to the 

 attacks of pigs, which root up the stout fleshy rhizomes. 



Myosotidium is a stout succulent herb 1 ft. to 3 ft. high, with a thick and fleshy 

 rhizome sometimes as much as 2 in. in diameter. The broad dark-green leaves are 

 remarkably thick and succulent, and vary from 6 in. to 15 in. in diameter. They 

 are strongly ribbed beneath and channelled above, and the stout petiole is also 

 grooved in front. The flowering-stem is often more than 2 ft. in height, and bears 

 a dense corymbose cyme 6 in. to 9 in. across. The flowers are about J in. 

 in diameter, bright blue towards the centre, but fading to white towards the 

 margin. The fruit is thick and spongy, pyramidal and four-winged, and from J in, 

 to I in. indiameter. 



