Mertensia virginica: Sky Blue Bell Shaped Flowers of Virginia Bluebells

Summary: Mertensia virginica is a New World perennial native to eastern Canada and central and eastern United States. The spring ephemeral reigns in sky blue beauty.

wild Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica), Theodore Roosevelt Island, Washington DC: Fritzflohrreynolds, CC BY SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Mertensia virginica is a New World plant in the borage or forget-me-not family, Boraginaceae. The spring ephemeral, which goes dormant by early summer, claims woodland habitats in eastern Canada and the central to eastern United States.

In Canada, Mertensia virginica claims homelands in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec.

In the United States, Mertensia virginica prettifies the landscapes of 25 states.

Mertensia virginica is native to nine Midwestern states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin.

The New World wildflower is found natively in two Gulf Coast states: Alabama and Mississippi.

Mertensia virginica occurs natively in two south central states: Kentucky and Tennessee.

The New World wildflower claims homelands in the nation's capital, Washington, D.C., as well as in ten Mid- and South Atlantic states: Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.

Mertensia virginica is found natively in two New England states: Maine and Massachusetts.

In addition to Virginia bluebells, other common names in English for Mertensia virginica include: blue and pink ladies, Roanoke bluebells and Virginia cowslip.

The graceful perennial presents a profusion of broadly rounded, slightly floppy green leaves.

Nodding flowers, formed from exquisite pink buds, open in trumpet shapes as narrow funnels culminating in full skirts.

Although mainly displaying the gentle shades of its trademark sky blueness, Virginia bluebells occasionally put forth white flowers.

Virginia bluebells are as pleasing to the palate as their pastel palette suggests.

Flowers and leaves contribute delightful flavors and textures to salads and stir-fry.

Candied flowers beautifully garnish frosted cakes and cookies.

In 1993, the Royal Horticultural Society, founded in London, England, in 1804, honored Mertensia virginica with its prestigious Award of Garden Merit (AGM). As the Royal Horticultural Society regularly reviews its AGM awardees for ongoing merit, the successful hold of Mertensia virginica on its placement for more than two decades testifies to its gardening excellence.

Ever since wild Virginia bluebells first appeared in my yard within the last decade, they have been increasing in number, clearly happy in their new home.

This spring, on Sunday, April 12, 2015, pink buds graced more than five dozen (60-plus) plants as they clustered around the northern base of the north terrace's towering box elder (Acer negundo) tree. A few feet to their south, a disjunct, or separate, population, blued the southern perimeter of the tree's shade garden, now featuring kalanchoe (Kalanchoe ssp.) and mayapples (Podophyllum peltatum). Two days later, on Tuesday, April 14th, pink buds opened in an awesome abundance of sky blueness.

Among the many wild plants homesteading in my yard, Virginia bluebells contribute their immediately recognizable, special palette of pastel floral perfection.

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credit:

wild Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica), Theodore Roosevelt Island, Washington DC: Fritzflohrreynolds, CC BY SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mertensia_virginica_-_Virginia_Bluebells.jpg

For further information:

Quattrochi, Umberto. CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names: Common Names, Scientific Names, Eponyms, Synonyms, and Etymology. Vol. III: M-Q. Boca Raton FL: CRC Press, 1999.