ALPINE FORGET-ME-NOT

Katrina Moran
6/22/12
Post of a flower that I will be going more in depth about
I identified this flower on our Dock Point field trip


ALPINE FORGET-ME-NOT : Myosotis alpestris, ssp. asiatica

Family: Borage/Boraginaceae
Habitat: Sub-alpine and alpine meadows and slopes (lower in coastal areas) throughout most of Alask, except Southeastern and the Yukon River drainage.
Blooming Time: Late May-June on south facing slopes to early August in northern snow beds.
Description: A perennial plant, 6-15' tall, with long-stemmed, lanceolate blue-green leaves with many stiff hair. The plant has one or more hairy stems with sessile leaves reducing in size upwards. The flowers are 1/4 to 3/8' across, have 5 rounded blue petals joined at the base with a yellow eye surrounded by white. The spike of flowers curled in a cyme in bud.
Comments: This is the Alaska State Flower. There are several members of this genus and closely related genera in Alask. The flower spike is tightly curled in bud. Most have blue flowers, but sometimes could be white or pink. Arctic species belong to the Eritrichium genus. They have very short stems, rosettes of small, hairy leaves at the base and the flowers are vivid blue.

These are such beautiful little flower I had to share more about this flower in my blog. I really like it also because it is my States flower and I think it deserved a little more appreciation! :)


References: Alaskan Wildflowers by Verna E. Pratt