Vol.. III.] 



BORAGE FAMILY. 



6l 



/V>; 



9. ASPERUGO L. Sp. PI. 138. 1753. 



An annual rough-hispid procumbent herb, with alternate entire leaves, or the upper- 

 most sometimes opposite, and small blue or nearly white flowers, short-pedicelled and 1-3 

 together in the upper axils. Calyx campanulate, unequally 5-cleft. much enlarged and 

 folded together in fruit, the lobes incised-dentate. Corolla tubular-campanulate, 5-lobed, 

 the lobes imbricated. Stamens 5, included, inserted on the corolla-tube; filaments very 

 short. Ovary 4-divided; style short; stigma capitate. Nutlets 4, ovoid, erect, granular-tuber- 

 culate, keeled, laterally attached above "the middle 

 to the elongated-conic receptacle. [Latin, rough, 

 referring to the leaves.] 



A rnonotypic genus of Europe and Asia. 



i. Asperugo procumbens L,. German 

 Madwort. Catchweed. (Fig. 3037.) 

 Asperugo procumbens L- Sp. PI. 138. 1753. 



Stems slender, branched, diffusely procumbent, 

 6 / -i8 / long, very rough with stiff bristly hairs. 

 Leaves oblong, lanceolate, or the lower spatulate, 

 obtuse or acutish at the apex, ^ / -i>^ / long, the 

 lower narrowed into margined petioles; flowers 

 very short-pedicelled, about i // broad, blue, the 

 pedicels recurved in fruit; fruiting calyx dry and 

 membranous, strongly veined, 4 // -6 // broad; nut- 

 lets obliquely ovoid. 



In waste places and ballast, southern New York, 

 New Jerse y, Delaware and Pennsylvania. Also in Min- 

 nesota. Adventive from Europe. Called also Small 

 Wild Bugloss and Great Goose-grass. May-Aug. 



10. MYOSOTIS L. Sp. PL 131. 1753. 



Low annual biennial or perennial, more or less pubescent, branching, diffuse or erect 

 herbs, with alternate entire leaves, and small blue pink or wmite flowers in many-flowered 

 elongated bractless more or less i-sided racemes, or these sometimes leafy at the base. 

 Calyx 5-cleft, the lobes narrow, spreading or erect in fruit. Corolla salverform, the limb 

 5-lobed, the lobes convolute in the bud, rounded, the throat crested. Stamens 5, included, 

 inserted on the corolla-tube; filaments filiform; anthers obtuse. Ovary 4-divided, style fili- 

 form. Nutlets erect, glabrous or pilose, attached by their bases to the receptacle, the scar of 

 attachment small, flat. [Greek, mouse-ear.] 



About 35 species of wide geographic distribution. Besides the following, 1 or 2 others occur in 

 the southern and western parts of North America. Called Forget-me-not and Scorpion-grass. 

 Hairs of the calyx all straight; perennial swamp or brook plants. 



Calyx-lobes shorter than the tube; corolla 3"-4" broad. 1. M. pahcstris. 



Calyx-lobes as long as the tube; corolla 2"-^" broad. 2. M. laxa. 



Hairs of the calyx, or some of them, with hooked tips; annuals or biennials. 



Fruiting pedicels longer than the calyx. 



Fruiting pedicels not longer than the calyx. 



Calyx-lobes equal; corolla yellowish, changing to blue. 4. M. versicolor. 



Calyx-lobes unequal; corolla white. 5. M. Virginica. 



Myosotis palustris (L. ) Lam. Forget-me- 

 not. Mouse-ear Scorpion- grass. (Fig. 3038). 



Myosotis scorpioidesvzx. palustris~L, Sp. PI. 131. 1753. 

 Myosotis palustris L,am. Fl. Fr. 2: 283. 1778. 



Appressed-pubescent, perennial, with slender 



rootstocks or stolons; stems slender, decumbent, 



rooting at the lower nodes, 6 / -i8 / long. Leaves 



oblong, oblanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, obtuse, 



narrowed at the base, i / ~3 / long, 2 // -6 // wide, 



those of the stem sessile or very nearly so, or the 



lower petioled; racemes loosely many-flowered; 



pedicels longer than the calyx; calyx with straight 



appressed hairs, it lobes equal, triangular-ovate, 



acute, shorter than the tube, spreading in fruit; 



corolla blue with a yellow eye, the limb flat, 3 // -4 // 



broad; nutlets angled and keeled on the inner side. 



In brooks and marshes, Nova Scotia to southern 

 New York and Pennsylvania. Escaped from cultiva- 

 tion. Native of Europe and Asia. Called also Marsh 

 Scorpion-grass, Snake-grass and Love-me. May-July. 



3. M. arvensis. 



