Similar to Myosotis spathulata and Myosotis matthewsii, but differs from Myosotis spathulata by its well-defined, slender petiole; appressed, straight hairs on stem, petiole, leaf lamina and margin; and its decumbent stem not rooting at nodes. It differs from Myosotis matthewsii by its strigose indumentum on leaf upper surface; smaller flowers (3.7 – 4 mm across vs 5 – 8 mm across); stamens included in the corolla tube and fruiting calyx on shorter pedicel (1.5 – 3 mm vs 4.6 – 8.4 mm).

New Zealand. South Island, north-west Nelson: Takaka Valley, under overhanging limestone rock in forest, alt. ca 730 m, February 1977, A.P.Druce s.n. (Holotype: CHR [CHR 311719]; Fig. 1).

Plant perennial, 1.4 – 4.6 cm tall. Rosette leaves 6 – 9, lamina orbicular, 8.1 – 8.9 × 7.7 – 9.2 mm, apex mucronate, mucro ca 1 mm long. Leaf indumentum strigose, hairs on upper and lower surface sparsely distributed, non overlapping, appressed and antrorse. Hairs on leaf margin appressed. Petiole well-defined, 11.9 – 13.5 × 0.2 – 0.3 mm; hairs appressed, antrorse, sparsely distributed. Stem light brown, decumbent, not rooting at nodes, 59 – 100 × 0.3 – 0.5 mm. Stem hairs appressed as for leaves, hairs 0.2 – 0.6 mm long. Stem leaves elliptic or orbicular, 7.2 – 8.8 × 4.4 – 6.2 mm, mucronulate, shortly petiolate or sessile towards distal end of stem. Indumentum as for rosette leaves. Calyx lobes lanceolate, 1.5 – 2 mm long, hairs in upper half of the lobe only. Fruiting calyx 2.3 – 3 mm long; hairs appressed, straight, overlapping, not uniform in size. Flowers borne along the trailing stem, each usually opposite to a leaf. Pedicel at fruiting 1.5 – 3 mm long. Corolla white with yellow scales, 3.7 – 4 mm across. Corolla lobes obovate, not overlapping, 1.4 – 1.8 × 1.2 – 1.6 mm, apex rounded or irregularly notched. Corolla tube 2 – 2.2 mm long. Stamens included in the corolla, with only the anther’s appendage slightly above the scales. Filament attached below scales. Anther 0.5 × 0.2 mm. Style 1.8 mm long, stigma clavate. Nutlet smooth, light brown, ovoid to ellipsoid, 1.2 × 0.7 – 0.8 mm, ventral surface rounded.

New Zealand, South Island: north-west Nelson. Kahurangi National Park, upper Takaka River track, under overhang of limestone outcrop, alt. 857 m, 8 January 2011, C.A.Lehnebach & A.Zeller s.n. (WELT SP092173). Track along Takaka River, under overhang of limestone, alt. 736 m, 8 January 2011, C.A.Lehnebach & A.Zeller s.n. (WELT SP092172). Takaka Valley, alt. 900 m, under overhanging limestone rock in forest, February 1977, A.P. Druce s.n. (CHR 311720). Takaka River, near Ghost Creek Saddle, alt. 840 m, under overhang of limestone outcrop on dry loose fine soil, 22 April 2005, S. Courtney s.n. (NM 2688). Takaka Valley, Paynes Ford, at a base of limestone bluff, 30 October 2010, S. Courtney s.n. (NM 4835). Aniseed Valley. Valley down which Roding River, tributary of the Wairoa River, runs, 26 November 1967, R.H.S. (CHR 269160).

This species is named after Annie and Henry Chaffey (http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/4c15/1 ), who lived from ca 1913, for almost 40 years, as self-sustained, pioneers/exiles in this mountainous area of Kahurangi National Park. The tiny cottage they lived in still remains in place and served me as shelter during the expedition in which this new species was collected.

Endemic to New Zealand, only found in north-west Nelson (South Island). Detailed geographic coordinates are not shown to protect this species from illegal collection but are available from the author on request.

Currently the existence of only five populations of this species can be confirmed. Two of them are within Kahurangi National Park where they occupy an approximate area of 6 m² and 1 m². The number of individuals at each site is low, ca 20 and 3, respectively. Three other populations are found outside the park, two of them in smaller protected areas which are regularly monitored by the Department of Conservation. At all these sites the species occupies a similar habitat and a small area (Shannel Courtney, personal communication). Considering this information and following the New Zealand Threat Classification System (Townsend et al. 2008), Myosotis chaffeyorum should be considered as “Nationally Critical”.

This is a perennial, self-pollinating species. It is habitat-specific and restricted to dry loose fine soil under shelters formed by limestone overhangs.

The earliest known collection of Myosotis chaffeyorum dates from 1967 (CHR 269160). Its distinctiveness from other species of Myosotis, however, was only noticed ca 10 years later when Anthony (Tony) Druce collected it while surveying the flora associated with Palaeogene calcareous rocks in north-west Nelson (Druce, unpublished). Druce noticed the overall similarity of this species to Myosotis matthewsii and Myosotis spathulata but also differences between them, which he wrote on the labels of the herbarium sheets of these collections (see Fig. 1). These notes read “cf. Myosotis matthewsii, but the flowers are smaller” and “cf. Myosotis spathulata, but stem not creeping”.

Myosotis matthewsii and Myosotis spathulata are the only forget-me-nots in New Zealand with orbicular rosette leaves with which Myosotis chaffeyorum could be confused. The small flower with stamens within the corolla tube, the absence of roots at the nodes of the decumbent flowering stem and the strigose indumentum of the leaf lamina, petiole and stems of Myosotis chaffeyorum are key diagnostic characters to distinguish it from Myosotis matthewsii or Myosotis spathulata. In the absence of flowers, Myosotis matthewsii can be distinguished from Myosotis chaffeyorum by the presence of arcuate and erect hairs on the upper surface of the rosette leaves, larger leaves and a longer pedicel at fruiting (see Table 1). As for Myosotis spathulata, if no stems are present, it can be readily distinguished from Myosotis chaffeyorum by the hispid indumentum on the leaf petiole and larger leaf lamina (see Table 1).

Similar to Myosotis forsteri and Myosotis brockiei, but differs from Myosotis forsteri by its obovate rosette leaves; larger leaves at base of the cyme and smaller calyx at fruiting. It differs from Myosotis brockiei by its smaller flowers (3.8 – 4.8 mm vs 9 – 10 mm); stamens included within the corolla tube; fruiting calyx with shorter pedicel (2.5 – 2.9 mm vs 3.6 – 4.3 mm); and hispid indumentum on leaves and petiole.

NEW ZEALAND.South Island, north-west Nelson: Kahurangi National Park, Cobb Reservoir, among leaf litter accumulated by the side of large boulders in forest, alt. ca 867 m, 6 January 2011, C.A.Lehnebach & A.Zeller s.n. (Holotype: WELT [WELT SP092756/A]; Fig. 3).

Plant perennial, ca 20 cm tall. Rosette leaves 5 – 12, obovate, 32.4 – 56 ×15.8 – 20.5 mm; apex mucronulate, ca 0.4 mm long. Leaf lamina base attenuate to petiole. Leaf indumentum hispid, hairs on upper surface sparsely distributed, antrorse, arcuate or erect. Hairs on the lower surface sparsely distributed, retrorse, arcuate or erect. Hairs arcuate or straight on margin. Petiole 26 – 40 × 1.4 – 1.8 mm, hispid, hairs erect, arcuate, antrorse or retrorse on margins. Flowering stem ascending, dark green to brown, 210 × 1.5 – 1.9 mm. Hairs, appressed, arcuate or erect, 0.8 – 2.1 mm long. Stem leaves elliptic-obovate, mucronulate, 15.3 – 35.4 × 6.4 – 14 mm, either shortly petiolate or sessile towards distal end of the inflorescence. Indumentum as for rosette leaves. Cyme with 15 – 31 flowers. Pedicel at fruiting, 2.5 – 2.9 mm. Calyx lobes lanceolate, 2.3 – 2.8 mm long, hairs inside calyx in upper half or along entire lobe. Fruiting calyx 2.7 – 2.8 mm long, hairs densely distributed, overlapping and hooked or straight. Corolla white with yellow scales, 3.8 – 4.8 mm across, lobes ovate, 2 × 1.6 – 1.8 mm; not overlapping, apex rounded or irregularly notched. Corolla tube 3 mm long. Stamens included within the corolla tube, with only the anther’s appendage above the scales. Filament attached below the scales. Anther 0.8 × 0.2 mm. Style 3 mm long, stigma clavate. Nutlet smooth, dark brown, ovoid to ellipsoid, 1.4 – 1.5 × 0.7 – 0.9 mm, ventral surface keeled.

This species is named in honour of Lucy Beatrice Moore, New Zealand botanist (http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/5m55/1 ) who described several species of endemic Myosotis and revised this genus for the Flora of New Zealand (Allan 1961).

Endemic to New Zealand. Known from a single location in Kahurangi National Park, north-west Nelson (South Island). Detailed geographic coordinates are not shown to protect this species from illegal collection but are available from the author on request. It is likely Myosotis mooreana also occurs at two other sites within the Park (Shannel Courtney, personal communication) but this cannot be confirmed at this stage.

Considering the small population size for this species (six individuals only), low number of mature individuals observed in the population and the small area of occupancy (less than 1m²), and following the New Zealand Threat Classification System (Townsend et al. 2008), Myosotis mooreana should be rated as “Nationally Critical”.

This is a perennial, fertile, self-pollinating species. It grows among the twigs and leaf-litter accumulated among large boulders under red beech (Nothofagus fusca) forest.

There are only two species of forget-me-nots in New Zealand that can be mistaken with Myosotis mooreana; i.e. Myosotis brockiei and Myosotis forsteri. These two are the only species growing in a similar habitat, under forest or scrub in north-west Nelson and throughout New Zealand, respectively. The main differences between Myosotis mooreana and Myosotis brockiei are the large flowers with stamens fully exserted beyond the corolla tube in the latter species. Flowers in Myosotis mooreana are only ca 5 mm across and stamens are always included within the corolla tube. In contrast, Myosotis brockiei bears flowers ca 1 cm across and anthers with long filaments (ca 4 mm). When not fertile, indumentum and leaf shape are useful characters to distinguish between these two species. Myosotis mooreana bears oblanceolate rosette leaves and wide cauline leaves covered by a combination of arcuate, erect, antrorse and retrose hairs. Myosotis brockiei, in contrast, has narrowly elliptic leaves with a distinct tomentose almost greyish indumentum. Leaf shape is the most useful character to differentiate Myosotis mooreana from Myosotis forsteri. The latter species possess orbicular to broadly elliptic leaves with a well-defined petiole. The flowers of both species are very similar in size (see Table 1) but the calyx of Myosotis forsteri at fruiting is almost twice the size of the fruiting calyx of Myosotis mooreana.