Family: Boraginaceae
Cynoglossum amabile (Chinese houndʻs tongue, Chinese forget-me-not) is a herbaceous plant native to Asia. It is sometimes used as an ornamental plant in rock gardens. In traditional Chinese medicine, this plant is utilized to help with coughs, treat scrofula, and stop bleeding from wounds. It is reported to be widely naturalized globally, including on Maui and Hawaiʻi Island. It is a nuisance weed due to its barbed seeds, and reported to be mildly toxic to horses if consumed over a long period of time. It can form dense cover in pastures and hillsides. However, despite widespread naturalization and weedy behavior, negative impacts have generally not been documented.
High Risk Traits:
- Broad climate suitability
- Grows in temperate to tropical climates
- Naturalized on Hawaii and Maui (Hawaiian Islands); widely naturalized elsewhere
- A disturbance-adapted nuisance weed (due to barbed seeds) of yards and gardens
- A potential weed of rangelands and natural areas
- Other Cynoglossum species are invasive weeds
- Potentially allelopathic
- May be unpalatable to browsing and grazing animals
- Reported to be mildly toxic to horses if consumed in large quantities over a long period of time
- Tolerates many soil types
- Forms dense cover in pastures and hillsides, possibly due to disturbance; competitive effects on other vegetation unclear
- Reproduces by seeds
- A biennial that may reach maturity in <1 year in some climates
- Barbed seeds dispersed externally by attaching to animals and people, by water, and intentionally cultivated by people
Low Risk Traits:
- Despite widespread naturalization and weedy behavior, negative impacts have generally not been documented
- Unarmed
- Grows in full sun to partial shade (dense shade may limit ability to establish or spread)
- Not reported to spread vegetatively
- Herbicides provide effective control of a related, invasive species, and would likely be effective in controlling Cynoglossum amabile if needed
