Myosotis laxa Lehm. ssp. laxa (Finland,
Lohja, Ahtiala, 1987). – Image: Harri
Harmaja (scanned from dried specimen). –
This taxon differs from the common M. laxa ssp. caespitosa (Schultz) Hyl. ex Nordh. in that (i), when present, the branches of the stem
are basally (vs. upwards), (ii) the inflorescence is looser and more or
less leafy, (iii) the pedicels get pronouncedly elongated in fruit, and (iv)
the calyces get clearly larger in fruit (vs. slightly so). As to life history,
the plants are probably mostly perennial (at least biennial) but I have also found small (even one-flowered!)
annuals with withered
cotyledons still attached. The size of individual plants varies much; also the size, shape
and exact colour of the corolla display variability.
Since a long time I have noticed the present taxon as it is not
infrequent in Lohja (inland of SW Finland). The habitat is mostly brookside, but
the plant also dwells both open and bushy lakeshores and even moist,
human-influenced meadows. No doubt it is indigenous in the area. Infrequently,
ssp. laxa and ssp. caespitosa have been observed growing in the
same site.
In Finland (and northern Europe), the variable species M. laxa
(Boraginaceae)
is represented by three taxa: M. laxa ssp. baltica (Sam.)
Hyl. ex Nordh., M. laxa ssp. caespitosa, and M. laxa ssp.
laxa. Pending molecular studies, this difficult aggregate may best be
treated as three subspecies. The vegetative appearance of ssp. laxa is
much like that of ssp. baltica but the shoots are long-lived and the
fruits are smaller (about as those of ssp. caespitosa). The subspecies
baltica is differentiated from the two other races through being strictly
annual and through larger fruits. In Fennoscandia, M. laxa ssp. caespitosa is wide-spread, ssp.
baltica is restricted to the coasts of the Baltic Sea, while the
distribution of the infrequent ssp. laxa is very poorly known. Previously,
the Lohja plants described above were thought to represent inland occurrences of ssp.
baltica, if noted at all. The existence of ssp. laxa has been and
is still badly neglected in Finland and elsewhere in Europe.
Karin Apelgren (Sweden)
conducted thorough studies on these three taxa within M. laxa s. lato in Fennoscandia: Apelgren, K.
1991: Relations between coast and inland taxa in the Baltic region: case
studies in Galium palustre s. lat. and Myosotis laxa s. lat. – Acta Univ. Ups., compr. summ. Uppsala diss. fac sc. 306.
Created September 24, 2004.