Mimophytum
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| Mimophytum | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Mimophytum sp. | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Boraginales |
| Family: | Boraginaceae |
| Subfamily: | Boraginoideae |
| Genus: | Mimophytum Greenm. (1905) |
| Type species | |
| Mimophytum omphalodoides Greenm. | |
| Species[1] | |
|
11; see text | |
Mimophytum is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae. The species are native to northeastern Mexico and adjacent areas of Texas, United States. They are similar to the closely related genus Omphalodes but a distinct group.
Mimophytum species are (sub-)perennial herbs, either with a rhizome or erect. The leaves have petioles and are heart-shaped or rhombic. They produce blue flowers similar to forget-me-nots.[2] The fruits consist of four winged nutlets. The nutlet wing can be turned upwards, creating a navel-like shape, similar to the fruits of Omphalodes. In two species, M. alienum and M. alienoides, there are two differently shaped fruits: two navel-like nutlets and two nutlets with flat wings. In three species, M. omphalodoides, M. benitomartinezii, and M. richardsonii, the wings of the navel-shaped nutlets are beset with small barbed glochidia.