AN ILLUSTRATED KEY TO THE BORAGINACEAE OF ALBERTA Compiled and written by Lorna Allen & Linda Kershaw September 2019 © Linda J. Kershaw & Lorna Allen This key was compiled using information primarily from Moss (1983), Douglas et al. 1998 and Lesica 2012. Taxonomy follows VASCAN (Brouillet, 2019). The main references are listed at the end of the key. Please let us know if there are ways in which the keys can be improved. The 2018 S-ranks of rare species (S1; S1S2; S2; S2S3; SH; SU, according to ACIMS, 2018) are noted in superscript (S1;S2;SU) after the species names. For more details go to the ACIMS web site. Similarly, exotic species are followed by a superscript X, XX if noxious and XXX if prohibited noxious (X; XX; XXX) according to the Alberta Weed Control Act (2016). → 1a BORAGINACEAE Borage Family Until recently, Heliotropium curassavicum was in the Boraginaceae. It is now in Heliotropaceae (see Key to Families - Group 9). Key to Genera 01a Fruiting calyx (→) forming a flattened, 2-lipped envelope 1-2 cm wide; flowers 1-2 in leaf axils; stems weak, trailing, 30-120 cm long, with backward-pointing prickles ............... Asperugo procumbens X 01b Calyx not enlarged in fruit; flowers in 1-sided or coiled clusters at branch tips; habit and stems not as above. .02 02a Corollas star-shaped, >1 cm across; stamens converging in a cone that projects beyond the petals . .Borago officinalis X 02b Corollas funnel-, trumpet- or bell-shaped, 2a <1 cm across; stamens included in or projecting from the corolla tube, but not converging in a cone. .03 3a 03a Corollas bilaterally symmetric; stamens projecting from the corolla tube . Echium vulgare X 03b Corollas radially symmetric; stamens included within the corolla tube .................04 04a Nutlets with hooked or barbed prickles (sometimes just on the edges); flowers blue with a yellow eye (rarely white; reddish-purple in Cynoglossum officinale). 05 04b Nutlets smooth or rough, but without prickles; flowers yellow, white, blue, purplish or dark 7a reddish, with or without a yellow eye . 08 05a Nutlets spreading, broadest near the tip, uniformly prickly all over ...............06 6a 05b Nutlets erect, broadest near the base, most or largest prickles along the edges. 07 06a Flowers reddish purple (rarely white); stems leafy near the flower clusters; coarse biennial weed of disturbed sites across sAB. .Cynoglossum officinale X 06b Flowers blue with a yellow eye; stems naked 6b near the flower clusters; rare native perennials of dry woods in wc AB. Andersonglossum boreale S1 . [Cynoglossum boreale; C.virginianum] 7b 07a Most flowers with a bract at the base; fruiting stalks erect; plants annual, 5-40(70) cm tall .. Lappula 07b Only the lowest flowers with a bract; fruiting stalks curved back/down; plants annual, biennial or perennial, (15)20-100(120) cm tall . Hackelia 3 08a Flower clusters leafy; nutlets white, grey or pale brown, very hard, smooth and shiny, egg- shaped, 3-6(8) mm long. .Lithospermum 08b Flower clusters not leafy, bracts, if present, shorter or only slightly longer than the flowers, (stem leaves may overtop the flower clusters in young plants); nutlets not as above . .09 8a 09a Flower clusters with bracts to the tip. .10 09b Flower clusters without bracts or only the lowest flowers with bracts ..............11 10a Plants annual, 10-20 cm tall; corollas white, ≤1 mm across; leaves lance-shaped to spoon- shaped, widest towards the tip, 0.5-1.5 cm long .............. S2 10a Cryptantha minima 10b Plants perennial, 10-40 cm tall; corollas dark crimson-brown, 10-15 mm across; leaves linear to lance-shaped, 3-10 cm long. Nonea vesicaria X 10b 11a Corollas tubular, flaring slightly to a lobed cup or funnel at the mouth .................12 11b Corollas tubular, tipped with a disc of wide- spreading lobes at the mouth ...........13 12a Stems hairless or with a few soft hairs; corollas blue (often pink in bud); stem leaves absent or all alternate; native plants of open and wooded sites . Mertensia 12b Stems with stiff, spreading hairs; corollas 12a reddish-purple or cream-colored; stem leaves present, all opposite or lower leaves alternate; introduced weeds of disturbed sites ........ Symphytum officinale X 12b 13a Flowers blue (rarely white); nutlets rounded, smooth and shiny, with a small basal scar. .Myosotis 13b Flowers white or orange-yellow; nutlets usually pointed, dull, wrinkled or smooth, with a broad, flat base or with a scar on the side .......14 14a Corollas bright blue with a bent, 4-7 mm long tube ending in 5 spreading lobes and 5 13a prominent white-hairy bulges, 4-6 mm across; 14a nutlets with a thick basal rim surrounding a stalk-like plug; exotic, a rare garden escape . Anchusa arvensis X 14b Corollas orange-yellow or white, without white- hairy bulges at the lobe bases; nutlets without a basal rim or stalk-like plug ............15 15a Flowers bright orange-yellow; leaves lance- shaped to oblong-oval and widest at or below the middle. Amsinckia menziesii X 15b Flowers white; leaves linear to lance-shaped and widest towards the tip . 16 15a 4 16a Leaves with long, bristly hairs, mostly alternate; annual, biennial or perennial, in dry sites; nutlets smooth or bumpy, with a long groove ± from base to tip .......Cryptantha (in part) 16b Leaves with stiff, flat-lying hairs, paired at the base, alternate above; annual, in moist sites; nutlets strongly wrinkled and bumpy, with a 16b raised, oblique scar Plagiobothrys scouleri X 16a CRYPTANTHA Cryptantha 01a Plants perennial/biennial, with woody taproots and persistent thickened bases; basal leaves - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - in a conspicuous tuft; stems ≥3 mm thick, simple or branched from the base; corollas 6-11 mm wide, conspicuous; nutlets 3-4 mm long, all similar. .Cryptantha celosioides . [incl . Cryptantha macounii; C. nubigena] 1a 01b Plants annual, with slender taproots and without persistent thickened bases; basal leaves absent; stems 1-2 mm thick, often diffusely branched; corollas <2 mm wide, inconspicuous; nutlets 2-2.5 mm long, of 1 or 2a 2 types . .02 02a Flower clusters with bracts throughout; bracts longer than the calyxes; calyx lobes with thick, hardened, whitish mid-nerves ............. Cryptantha minima S2 02b Flower clusters with bracts below only the lowest flower(s); bracts inconspicuous, shorter than the calyxes; calyx lobes neither whitened nor thickened . 03 3b 03a Nutlets of 2 types, 1 large and smooth, 3 smaller with tiny wart-like bumps. 3a . Cryptantha kelseyana - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 03b Nutlets all similar, ± smooth. Cryptantha fendleri HACKELIA Stickseed 1a 01a Plants long-lived perennials with branched, persistent, thickened bases; basal leaves in green rosettes; flowers 7-11 mm across, blue with a yellow or white eye; montane woods and mountain meadows Hackelia micrantha . .[Hackelia jessicae] 01b Plants annual or biennial, without a persistent branched base; basal leaves absent or soon withering, never forming persistent rosettes; 2b flowers 1.5-4 mm across, blue (rarely white) with a yellow eye; moist woods and meadows across sAB. 02 02a Flowers 1.5-3(4) mm across; nutlet bodies 2-3 mm long. Hackelia deflexa . .[Hackelia americana] 02b Flowers (4)5-7(8) mm across; nutlet bodies 2a 3-4 mm long. Hackelia floribunda 5 LAPPULA Stickseed 01a Nutlets with a single row of prickles along the edge; prickles flattened, often joined at the base. .Lappula occidentalis . [Lappula redowskii] 01b Nutlets with 2 rows of prickles along the edge; prickles slender, not joined at the base. .Lappula squarrosa X . .[Lappula echinata] 1a 1b LITHOSPERMUM Gromwell - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 01a Leaves broadly lance-shaped; styles conspicuously extending beyond the corollas; flowers dull white or greenish white, with pointed lobes typically converging around the style . Lithospermum occidentale . .[Onosmodium molle] 01b Leaves oblong-lance-shaped; styles included within the corollas; flowers orange or yellow (sometimes green-tinged) with spreading, rounded lobes .......................02 1a 02a Corollas bright yellow or orange, >10 mm long, with tubes well surpassing the calyxes and with lobes fringed or toothed; nutlets 3-4 mm long .............Lithospermum incisum 02b Corollas pale yellow or greenish, <10 mm long, with tubes seldom much longer than the calyxes and with lobes smooth-edged; nutlets 4-6 mm long. .Lithospermum ruderale 2a 2b MERTENSIA Bluebells 01a Plants 30-70 cm tall; upper leaf surfaces rough-to-touch, with short, stiff, backward- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - pointing hairs; stem leaves egg-shaped to broadly lance-shaped, with distinct, arching 1a side veins; widespread throughout AB (except in grasslands) .......Mertensia paniculata 01b Plants 10-30 cm tall; upper leaf surfaces smooth or slightly roughened, hairless or with weak or soft hairs; stem leaves oblong to lance-shaped, without distinct side veins; restricted to swAB ....................02 2a 02a Roots shallow, tuberous, easily detached; basal leaves absent; stems leaves elliptic or egg-shaped; corollas 15-25 mm long, with tubes 2-3X as long as the expanded tips. Mertensia longiflora S2 02b Roots deeper, woody, firmly attached; basal leaves usually present; stem leaves mostly oblong-lance-shaped; corollas 10-15 mm long, with tubes ≈ the expanded tips ............ .Mertensia lanceolata S2 2b 6 MYOSOTIS Forget-me-not 01a Plants perennial, native, in subalpine to alpine 2a meadows; corollas 4-8 mm across. Myosotis asiatica . [Myosotis alpestris] 1a 01b Plants annual or perennial, exotic, uncommon weeds of disturbed ground; corollas 2-5 mm across .............................02 02a Plants perennial, calyxes with straight, flat- lying, forward-pointing hairs Myosotis laxa X 02b Plants annual, calyxes with some hooked, spreading hairs. .02 03a Fruiting stalks (pedicels) shorter than the calyxes; flower clusters extending almost to the base of the plant .... Myosotis stricta X . .[Myosotis micrantha] 03b Fruiting stalks longer than the calyxes; flower clusters shorter than to slightly longer than the leafy part of the plant . .Myosotis arvensis X 3a 3b 7 References Alberta Conservation Information Management System (ACIMS).