# Myosotis sylvatica

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Species of flowering plant in the borage family Boraginaceae

Myosotis sylvatica Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae Clade: Embryophytes Clade: Tracheophytes Clade: Spermatophytes Clade: Angiosperms Clade: Eudicots Clade: Asterids Order: Boraginales Family: Boraginaceae Genus: Myosotis Species: M. sylvatica Binomial name Myosotis sylvatica Ehrh.

***Myosotis sylvatica***, the **wood forget-me-not** or **woodland forget-me-not**,[1] is a [species](/source/Species) of [flowering plant](/source/Flowering_plant) in the [family](/source/Family_(taxonomy)) [Boraginaceae](/source/Boraginaceae), [native](/source/Native_plant) to Europe. This spring-flowering plant and its cultivars, typically with blue flowers, are the familiar forget-me-nots of gardens.

## Description

It is a short-lived [herbaceous](/source/Herbaceous) [perennial plant](/source/Perennial_plant), growing to 12–30 cm (5–12 in) tall by 15 cm (6 in) wide, with hairy leaves and a profusion of flowers with petals longer than their tube, pink in bud then opening disc-shaped, intensely sky-blue with yellow centres in spring.

Stace (2011)[2] describes this plant as having the following characteristics:

- Upright, to 50 cm; softly hairy, with hairs at more-or-less right-angles to the main stem.

- Flowers sky-blue, to 6–10 mm across, flat in profile; [sepal](/source/Sepal) tube with hooked hairs; April–July.[3]

- Mature fruit dark brown, shiny.

- Mature [calyx](/source/Calyx_(botany)) on spreading stalks longer than [sepal](/source/Sepal) tube; [calyx](/source/Calyx_(botany)) teeth spreading to expose the ripe fruit.

- Basal leaves stalked, in a rosette; upper leaves not stalked.

- Inflorescence of *Myosotis sylvatica* Generally found in woods, scree and rock ledges; common throughout the British Isles.

## Cultivation

Widely cultivated throughout the [temperate](/source/Temperateness) world, it is particularly associated with spring [bedding](/source/Bedding_(horticulture)) schemes involving other spring-flowering subjects, notably daffodils, tulips, wallflowers, and primulas. Typically seeds are sown one year to flower the next. Though short-lived, plants readily self-seed in favourable situations. Plants maintain leaf growth throughout winter.

*M. sylvatica* is also a parent of numerous cultivars in shades of pink, blue and white.[4] The cultivars 'Bluesylva'[5] and the compact 'Blue Ball'[6] have gained the [Royal Horticultural Society](/source/Royal_Horticultural_Society)'s [Award of Garden Merit](/source/Award_of_Garden_Merit).[7]

Other cultivars include:

- 'Blue Basket', a taller variety with deeper blue flowers

- 'Music', erect and large flowered

- 'Pompadour', compact, ball-shaped with large rose-pink flowers

- 'Snowball', white flowers

- 'Ultramarine', dwarf with very deep blue flowers

- 'Victoria Rose', bright pink flowers

## British Isles

As plants readily self-seed, it is often difficult to establish whether plants seen in the wild are in fact [garden escapes](/source/Garden_escape).

It is widespread in [England](/source/England), [Wales](/source/Wales), and the [Isle of Man](/source/Isle_of_Man), although less frequent further north. It can be found along much of the east coast of [Scotland](/source/Scotland) and areas in the South West, although missing from most of the [Highlands](/source/Scottish_Highlands), [Orkney](/source/Orkney), [Shetland](/source/Shetland), and the [Outer Hebrides](/source/Outer_Hebrides). In Ireland it is mostly found in [Northern Ireland](/source/Northern_Ireland), although there are a few spots in the [Republic of Ireland](/source/Republic_of_Ireland).[8]

## Gallery

		- Close up of calyx, background lines are 5mm apart

		- Calyx in its stem

		- Close up of flower, background square is 5mm across

		- Flower head - note how flat the petals are

		- Calyx with mature fruit inside, background lines are 5mm apart

		- Side 1 of mature fruit, background lines are 5mm apart

		- Side 2 of mature fruit, background lines are 5mm apart

		- Close up of stem, background square is 5mm across

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** [NRCS](/source/Natural_Resources_Conservation_Service). ["*Myosotis sylvatica*"](https://plants.sc.egov.usda.gov/plant-profile/MYSY). *PLANTS Database*. [United States Department of Agriculture](/source/United_States_Department_of_Agriculture) (USDA). Retrieved 15 July 2015.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Stace_2-0)** *New Flora of the British Isles*; [Clive Stace](/source/Clive_Stace); Third edition; 2011 printing

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** The Wild Flowers of Britain and Northern Europe; Fitter, Fitter, Blamey; Collins; 3rd edition 1978

1. **[^](#cite_ref-RHSAZ_4-0)** *RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants*. United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. 2008. p. 1136. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1405332965](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1405332965).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["RHS Plantfinder - *Myosotis* 'Bluesylva' (Sylva Series)"](https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/162013/i-Myosotis-sylvatica-i-Bluesylva-(Sylva-Series)/Details). Retrieved 10 April 2018.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["RHS Plantfinder - *Myosotis* 'Blue Ball'"](https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/106186/i-Myosotis-i-Blue-Ball/Details). Retrieved 10 April 2018.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-RHSAGMlist_7-0)** ["AGM Plants - Ornamental"](https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/pdfs/agm-lists/agm-ornamentals.pdf) (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 65. Retrieved 10 April 2018.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** [https://data.nbn.org.uk/Taxa/NHMSYS0000460822](https://data.nbn.org.uk/Taxa/NHMSYS0000460822), NBN Gateway.*Myosotis sylvatica Ehrh. ex Hoffm. [Wood Forget-me-not]*, NBN Gateway. Retrieved 13/04/15

Taxon identifiers Myosotis sylvatica Wikidata: Q149464 Wikispecies: Myosotis sylvatica APA: 5280 APDB: 77483 APNI: 107478 BioLib: 40720 Calflora: 10140 CoL: 743RS eFloraSA: Myosotis_sylvatica EoL: 580089 EPPO: MYOSI EUNIS: 161966 FloraBase: 12708 FNA: 242423375 GBIF: 5341175 GRIN: 24818 iNaturalist: 55826 IPA: 11972 IPNI: 119282-1 IRMNG: 10876326 ITIS: 31698 MichiganFlora: 589 MoBotPF: 278005 NatureServe: 2.138643 NBN: NHMSYS0000460822 NCBI: 192364 NSWFlora: Myosotis~sylvatica NZOR: cc1bb930-be3e-45ef-869f-b97025110962 NZPCN: 3212 Open Tree of Life: 709425 PalDat: Myosotis_sylvatica PFI: 4354 Plant List: kew-2358257 PLANTS: MYSY POWO: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:119282-1 RHS: 41558 SANBI: 1503-8 Tropicos: 4001323 VASCAN: 3807 VicFlora: 1eca2f52-7fbe-46d6-be97-60feb3c44a82 WisFlora: 4303 WFO: wfo-0000368542

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Myosotis sylvatica](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myosotis_sylvatica) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myosotis_sylvatica?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.