Wood Forget-me-not (Myosotis sylvatica)

Wood Forget-me-not is something of a puzzle to me and I have yet to really get it straight in my head!

Many gardens have a cultivated form of wood forget-me-not in them as it is an attractive flower with lovely bright sky-blue petals, deep green leaves and it grows in a way that suits flower beds! Other members of the forget-me-not family tend to be somewhat straggly and untidy with smaller, paler blue flowers. This cultivated form readily escapes in to the countryside, often through dumped garden rubbish, and it can be frequently found on roadside verges and other 'waste' ground in the Sidmouth area.

The true wood forget-me-not is very much a part of the native woodland spring flora here and is far less common; indeed, it seems that it is not a native plant to woods in southern England and any found here are the garden variety. 

What intrigues me is that I have encountered this flower in woodland where it is far away from habitation and one wonders how a garden flower can spread so far under its own devices. The garden variety seems to be at home in woodland where you might expect to find the wild variety! It seems so at home that it appears natural. 


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