BORAGE FAMILY. 



BOKRAGINACE^. 



Forget-me-not. Myomtis palust/ris. 



Mouse-ear. 



Found in moist meadows, and by brooks and runnels, flowering 

 in June and July. 



The large, somewhat square stalk, from 9 to 20 inches in height, is 

 branching and leafy, rather ronghish of surface, with short rootlets 

 starting out on its sides, and light green. It supports itself upon sur- 

 rounding vegetation. 



The leaf, 2 or 3 inches long, is oval with a blunt tip, and partly 

 clasping the stalk; its surface roughened with fine hairs, and it is light 

 green in color. 



The small 5-lobed flower is about a quarter of an inch across ; its 

 corolla is very fine and even in texture, in color light blue (occasionally 

 pink) with a center of harmonious yellow; the calyx is small, 5-parted, 

 and green. The buds are pinkish. The flowers grow in curving, one- 

 sided, terminal clusters, — sometimes from the angles of the upper leaves. 



This is one of the few true blue flowers of our flora ; its color is 

 pure and opaque, like that of a turquoise, or a fine enamel, and falls 

 into harmony with the yellow of the center through an exquisite 

 gradation of color. The plant remains in flower a long time, continually 

 forming new buds, and leaving behind the little empty green calyx- 

 cups on its ever-lengthening stem. The blossom of the wild plant is 

 larger than that usually cultivated in the gardens ; it is easily propa- 

 gated by means of cuttings. 



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