Lyttelton forget-me-not

Prior to its synonymy with Myosotis australis, M. lytteltonensis was thought to be endemic to Banks Peninsula, Canterbury, South Island, although some specimens from Marlborough (South Island) and southern North Island have also been identified as M. lytteltonensis.

Myosotis lytteltonensis (Laing & A.Wall) de Lange or Lyttelton forget-me-not is in the plant family Boraginaceae. It was originally described in 1924 as a variety of Myosotis australis (as M. australis var. lytteltonensis Laing & A.Wall) by Robert Malcolm Laing and Arnold Wall, thought to be restricted to Banks Peninsula, Canterbury, New Zealand. It was raised to species status by Peter de Lange in 2010. In the latest taxonomic treatment, it was considered to be a synonym of Myosotis australis, a species of forget-me-not native to New Zealand, Australia and New Guinea, due to a lack of distinguishing morphological characters. The lectotype of M. australis var. lytteltonensis was collected in Lyttelton in 1917 by Robert M. Laing and is housed at the Allan Herbarium of Manaaki Whenua - Landcare Research in Lincoln (CHR 17637). It was designated by Lucy B. Moore, and there is also an isolectotype at the same institution (CHR 17636). The species epithet lytteltonensis refers to the type locality, Lyttelton, Canterbury, New Zealand. According to the latest taxonomic treatment, the following names are all synonyms of Myosotis australis: M. mooreana Lehnebach, M. lytteltonensis (Laing & A.Wall) de Lange (and M. australis var. lytteltonensis Laing & A.Wall;), and M. australis var. conspicua Cheeseman.