Early Forget Me Not

Early forget-me-not is one of the first plants you find flowering in the dunes in early spring. Although the flowers are tiny, there can be so many that the area gets a bluish tint. Because early forget-me-not germinates in the autumn, it produces its flowers and seeds the next year before most other plants start to grow. The sepals surrounding the blossom are covered in hook-shaped hairs, giving it a rough touch. Early forget-me-not grows in sunny, usually open areas on dry, calcium-rich and humus-poor soil. It does very well particularly where rabbits and gulls have left their excrement behind. Plants that grow in such well fertilized places blossom longer into the summer. Early forget-me-not is very common in the dunes. Otherwise, it is quite rare in the Netherlands.