5 ° 
WILD FLOWERS OF THE BRITISH ISLES 
2. Creeping- Water Forget-me-not. (Myosotis repens. G. and D. Don.)— A very 
similar species with rather smaller flowers, J inch across, with the calyx more deeply divided, 
about halfway down, into narrow pointed teeth spreading in fruit, and the style not quite so long as 
the calyx ; the flower-clusters are usually slightly leafy ; the leaves pointed ; and the whole plant 
more hairy, dull green, and not shining. ( Under Myosotis palustris. Benth. and Hook.) 
Common. In ditches and wet places in Scotland and Ireland, not so plentiful in England. 
June — August. Perennial. 
3. Tufted Water Forget-me-not. (Myosotis caespitosa. F. Schultz.)— Another 
similar species to the Great Water Forget-me-not (Myosotis scorpioides), but with smaller flowers 
\ inch across, in clusters with a leaf at the base of each cluster ; the calyx divided nearly halfway 
down into narrow bluntish teeth slightly spreading in fruit ; the corolla-tube about as long as the 
width of the corolla-limb ; the style half as long as the calyx ■, the leaves blunt ; the root without 
enlarged rootlets (stolons ) ; and the whole plant light green and rather shining, though clothed 
with close pressed hairs. ( Under Myosotis palustris. Benth. and Hook.) 
Common. In ditches and wet places ; generally distributed throughout the British Isles. May — 
August. Perennial. 
4. Wood Forget-me-not. (Myosotis sylvat'ica. Hoffm.)— A somewhat similar species 
to the Great Water Forget-me-not (Myosotis scorpioides) but with flowers only f inch across, the 
calyx with numerous spreading hooked hairs, and divided nearly to the base into narrow teeth 
which are erect in fruit ; the corolla-limb twice as wide across as the tube is long, the lobes entire, 
not notched ; and the style not quite as long as the calyx. The stems are numerous, roughly 
hairy, with barren tufts ; the leaves are oblong lance-shaped, and thickly covered with short stiff 
spreading hairs ; the root is not creeping and does not give off thick rootlets (stolons) ; and the 
whole plant is of a dull green. \Plate 19. 
Rare. In woods and shady places ; widely distributed but rare in England, more common in the 
south of Scotland, but not found north of Forfarshire. May — September. Perennial. 
5. Alpine op Mountain Fopget-me-not. (Myosotis pyren&iica. Pourr.)— A similar 
species to the last, the Wood Forget-me-not (Myosotis sylvatica), but with larger flowers, about 
1 inch across, of a darker brilliant blue, sweet-scented in the evening ; the calyx-teeth spreading 
in fruit ; shorter styles, half the length of the calyx ; and shorter and densely tufted stems. ( Under 
Myosotis sylvatica. Benth. and Hook.) 
Very rare. Limestone and mica-slate rocks on high mountains in Teesdale, Westmorland, and 
Perthshire. July — August. Perennial. 
6. Field Fopget-me-not. (Myosotis arven'sis. Lam.) — The flowers vary very much in 
size and colour ; they are from l to nearly J inch across, and though sometimes bright blue, at 
other times they are very pale and unnoticeable. The calyx is deeply divided, as in the Wood 
Forget-me-not, into narrow, pointed teeth with hooked hairs, erect in fruit ; the corolla has a short, 
often concave limb, and the tube is shorter than, or only just as long as, the calyx ; the style is 
less than half as long as the calyx ; the stem is weak and straggling, and is 6-18 inches high, the 
leaves are rather narrow, and the whole plant is rough with spreading bristles. [ Plate 19. 
Very common. Cultivated fields and waste places all over the British Isles. June — October. 
Annual. 
7. Dwarf Forg-et-me-not. (Myosdtis collina. Hoffm.) — A remarkably small species 
with very small deep blue flowers which are scarcely at all pink in bud, and terminate a leafless 
stem long in comparison with the rest of the plant ; the lowest flower is usually separated from all 
the rest, and is low down the stem or in the axil of the uppermost leaf. The calyx-teeth are deeply 
