Te Papa logo

Museum of New Zealand

Te Papa Tongarewa

International visitor tickets

Free entry for New Zealanders and people living in New Zealand

Forget-me-nots (Myosotis)

The forget-me-nots (Myosotis, Boraginaceae) are often small rosette herbs. There are over 45 native species of Myosotis in Aotearoa New Zealand, and almost all of these are endemic (only found here). In addition, six introduced forget-me-nots of European origin are common garden weeds in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Native forget-me-nots are found in a variety of habitats throughout Aotearoa New Zealand – many are rare and have restricted geographic distributions. About three-quarters of our native species are threatened or at risk.

A close look at Myosotis pollen

As part of a larger study on the systematics of New Zealand forget-me-nots, the pollen of six species of Myosotis was examined to obtain taxonomically useful characters.

Research on Myosotis

How are the New Zealand forget-me-nots related to one another and to their overseas relatives? How many New Zealand species are there, how can they be identified, where are they found, and what is their conservation status? Why are there so many rare, threatened species of Myosotis in New Zealand?

Myosotis field trips

Our Botany Curators are studying forget-me-nots (Myosotis, Boraginaceae) to produce a taxonomic revision of all native Aotearoa New Zealand species of the genus. These narratives, categorised by year, feature images of species found on various field trips.

Browse our blogs about forget-me-nots

Read about collecting specimens in challenging climates, field work with students, discovering new species, and searching for rare species with a North Island iwi.

Nancy Adams and Myosotis

As well as painting, drawing and describing New Zealand flora, Nancy Adams also collected and identified botanical specimens – including Myosotis (forget-me-not).

Tuhinga: Lectotypification of three species of forget-me-nots (Myosotis: Boraginaceae) from Australasia

Botany Curator Carlos Lehnebach designated lectotypes for the names of one Australasian and two New Zealand native forget-me-nots are selected: Myosotis australis R.Br., M. forsteri Lehm. and M. goyenii Petrie, respectively.

Describing and classifying native forget-me-nots

Completing a taxonomic revision of all southern hemisphere forget-me-not species, including about 45 described species and c. 20 informal tag-named species.

Planting our forget-me-nots in Wikipedia

Digital Channels Outreach Manager Lucy Schrader talks about the work that went into getting hundreds of images of forget-me-nots and their data onto Wikimedia, allowing them to spread across the web.