Mertensia virginica

Virginia bluebells
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Boraginales
Family:	Boraginaceae
Genus:	Mertensia
Species:	M. virginica
Binomial name
Mertensia virginica (L.)Pers.exLink,1829

Mertensia virginica(common namesVirginia bluebells,Virginia cowslip,lungwort oysterleaf,Roanoke bells) is a springephemeral plantin theBoraginaceae(borage) family with bell-shaped sky-blue flowers, native to eastern North America.

Description

Virginia bluebells have rounded (ovate) and gray-green leaves, borne on stems up to 24 in (60 cm) tall. The leaves are up to 5 in (13 cm) long, smooth (entire) along their margins,petiolateat the bottom of the flower stem, andsessileat the top.

Theinflorescenceis a nodding group, orcymeof flowers located at the end of the arched stems.The flower buds are pink, and the opened flowers are usually light blue, but occasionally pink and rarely white.The flowers have 5 shallow lobes fused into a tube at the base of the flower, fivestamens,and a central pistil (carpel).

Distribution and habitat

M. virginicais native in the United States from Kansas in the west, to Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia in the south, and to Maine in the northeast. It is native in Canada in Ontario and Quebec.The plant can be found in rich, moist woods and on low, wooded hillsides. They often form large groups.

Ecology

The plant develops very early in the spring and flowers mid-spring. In early summer, each fertilized flower produces four seeds within wrinklednuts.The plant then goesdormanttill the next spring.

The flowers attract long-tongued bees, such as bumblebees, butterflies, moths, skippers, hummingbird moths, flower flies, bee flies, and hummingbirds.

Uses

Virginia bluebells had several uses in traditional Native American medicine, including as a pulmonary aid, tuberculosis treatment, and treatment for whooping cough (Cherokee,) root infusion antidote for treating poison, and root decoction venereal to treat venereal issues (Iroquois.).Native Americans believed a tonic made from this plant could help heal those who were under-the-weather.

Mertensia virginicais edible, including the flowers.

In cultivation,M. virginicahas gained theRoyal Horticultural Society'sAward of Garden Merit.

• Photos
• 
  Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica) in Ohio
• 
  Leaves before blooming
• 
  Flower buds
• 
  Typical blue-flowered form at thebotanical gardensinBerlin,Germany
• 
  A pink-flowered form
• 
  A white-flowered form
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  Fruits
• 
  Woods carpeted in bluebells
• 
  A bumblebee hanging from a bluebell

Nomenclature

Mertensia virginicais thetype speciesfor thegenusMertensiaand was firstdescribedbyLinnaeusin 1753 asPulmonaria virginica.The genusPulmonariais today restricted to 19 species in thetribeBoragineae.WhenAlbrecht Wilhelm Rotherected the genusMertensiain 1797, henamedthe Virginia bluebell asMertensia pulmonarioides,apparently unaware that Linnaeus had alreadynamedit in hisSpecies Plantarum.Roth'snameis a superfluoussynonymand has been used in recentliterature.

External links

• Wildflower.org: Native Plant Identification Network
• Missouri Plants:Mertensia virginica
• Illinois Plant Information Network:Mertensia virginica
• RHS Plant Selector:Mertensia virginica
• PulmonariaInSpecies Plantarumvol. 1AtBotanicus
• Nomenclature of the Virginia bluebellAtVolume 21, View BookAtSIDA, contributions to botanyAtBHL
• Mertensia virginicain theCalPhotosphoto database,University of California, Berkeley