Jump to content

Mertensia longiflora

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mertensia longiflora
Mertensia longiflora near Cashmere, Chelan County Washington
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Boraginales
Family: Boraginaceae
Genus: Mertensia
Species:
M. longiflora
Binomial name
Mertensia longiflora
Greene, 1898
Mertensia longiflora on Badger Mountain, Douglas County Washington

Mertensia longiflora is a species of flowering plant in the borage family known by the common names small bluebells and long bluebells.

Distribution

[edit]

It is native to western North America from British Columbia to California to Montana, where it grows in several types of habitat.

Description

[edit]

It is a perennial herb growing from branched and tuberous roots[1] in the form of a caudex. The erect stem averages about 18 centimetres (7+18 in) in height.[1] There are a few oval to lance-shaped leaves.

The inflorescence is a dense, often crowded cluster of hanging tubular flowers which are fused at the base and expand into lobed and bell-like mouths.[1] They are generally bright blue, but may be lavender to pinkish to nearly white, and measure up to 2.5 cm long.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Taylor, Ronald J. (1994) [1992]. Sagebrush Country: A Wildflower Sanctuary (rev. ed.). Missoula, MT: Mountain Press Pub. Co. p. 22. ISBN 0-87842-280-3. OCLC 25708726.
[edit]