Mertensia ciliata
Plant species in the borage family
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mertensia ciliata is a species of flowering plant in the borage family known by the common names mountain bluebell,[3] tall fringed bluebells, and streamside bluebells.
| Mertensia ciliata | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Boraginales |
| Family: | Boraginaceae |
| Genus: | Mertensia |
| Species: | M. ciliata |
| Binomial name | |
| Mertensia ciliata | |
| Subspecies[2] | |
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| Synonyms[2] | |
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Description
Mertensia ciliata is a perennial herb producing a cluster of erect stems from a thick, branching caudex. The leafy stems reach well over a meter in maximum height.[3] The leaves are up to 15 centimetres (6 in) long,[3] veiny, and oval to lance-shaped.
Blooming from May to August,[3] the inflorescence is an open array of many clustered blue bell-shaped flowers each between 1 and 2 cm (1⁄2 and 3⁄4 in) long.[3] The hanging, fragrant flower is tubular, expanding into a wider, lobed mouth. As the individual flowers progress in age they change in color from blue to pink-red.[4]
Taxonomy
In 1827 the botanist John Torrey described a new species in the genus Pulmonaria which he named Pulmonaria ciliata and credited to Edwin James. It was moved to the genus Mertensia in 1837 by George Don, giving the species its accepted name of Mertensia ciliata. Together with its genus it is classified in the Boraginaceae family and has two accepted varieties according to Plants of the World Online.[2]
- Mertensia ciliata var. ciliata – Widespread from Oregon to New Mexico[5]
- Mertensia ciliata var. stomatechoides – Native to Oregon, California, & Nevada[6]
Mertensia ciliata has 15 synonyms of the species or one of its two varieties.[2][5][6]
| Name | Year | Rank | Synonym of: | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mertensia ciliata f. candida J.F.Macbr. & Payson | 1917 | form | var. ciliata | = het. |
| Mertensia ciliata var. latiloba L.O.Williams | 1937 | variety | var. ciliata | = het. |
| Mertensia ciliata var. polyphylla A.Nelson | 1909 | variety | var. ciliata | = het. |
| Mertensia ciliata var. punctata A.Nelson | 1909 | variety | var. ciliata | = het. |
| Mertensia ciliata var. subpubescens (Rydb.) J.F.Macbr. & Payson | 1917 | variety | var. ciliata | = het. |
| Mertensia incongruens J.F.Macbr. & Payson | 1917 | species | var. ciliata | = het. |
| Mertensia pallida Rydb. | 1909 | species | var. ciliata | = het. |
| Mertensia picta Rydb. | 1904 | species | var. ciliata | = het. |
| Mertensia platensis (Rydb.) Rydb. | 1906 | species | var. ciliata | = het. |
| Mertensia polyphylla Greene | 1899 | species | var. ciliata | = het. |
| Mertensia polyphylla var. platensis Rydb. | 1905 | variety | var. ciliata | = het. |
| Mertensia punctata Greene | 1899 | species | var. ciliata | = het. |
| Mertensia stomatechoides Kellogg | 1861 | species | var. stomatechoides | ≡ hom. |
| Mertensia subpubescens Rydb. | 1903 | species | var. ciliata | = het. |
| Pulmonaria ciliata E.James ex Torr. | 1827 | species | M. ciliata | ≡ hom. |
| Notes: ≡ homotypic synonym ; = heterotypic synonym | ||||
Distribution and habitat
It is native to the western United States. It grows throughout the southwestern US in the states of California, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona. It is also found in the northwest in Oregon and Idaho. It also is known from the Rocky Mountain states of Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. It is found as far east as South Dakota.[2]
It often grows in moist habitat, such as subalpine meadows and creeksides. It often carpets large areas of meadow and hillside with blue-green foliage and sweet-scented bluebell blooms.[7]
Ecology
The flowers bear poricidal anthers and are fertilized via buzz-pollination by several Bombus species. Primary nectar robbing by Bombus species, including B. occidentalis, is common in some populations.[citation needed]
