Mertensia lanceolata | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Boraginales |
Family: | Boraginaceae |
Genus: | Mertensia |
Species: | M. lanceolata |
Binomial name | |
Mertensia lanceolata | |
Varieties [3] | |
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Synonyms [3] | |
List
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Mertensia lanceolata, known as prairie bluebells, lance-leaved bluebells, lance-leaved lungwort, and narrow-leaved languid ladies is a species of flowering plant native to the Rocky Mountains and areas of the northern Great Plains in western North America. [1] A herbaceous perennial it has blue-green leaves alternately arranged on its smooth flowering stalk. Its flower buds are pink-purple and become blue as they open.
Mertensia lanceolata is a variable species with flowering individuals typically growing 10–45 cm in height. [4]
The species is found in Rocky Mountain habitats from the plains to alpine areas. The leaves are blue-green due to the waxy coating with a prominent center vein. [5] Immature plants will have a few that spring directly from the ground (basal leaves) that are halfway between egg shaped and a lance head shaped (ovate-lanceolate). They may be on short stalks that are longer than the leaf or without any leaf stem (sessile). Older plants will have leaves that attach to the flower stalk alternately with a much narrower leaf, either lanceolate or somewhat more rectangular (oblong-lanceolate) and may or may not have basal leaves. [4]
The leaves or flower stalks arise from the large taproot. Flowering stalks lean outwards at an angle with multiple flowers hanging downwards from the top of the stalk. The flowers are five fused petals forming a short trumpet. [6] The flower buds are pink in color, [7] while the flowers are very often a pale sky-blue, but may also be nearly white or a deep blue color. [8] The united tube of the flower is 3–7 millimeters in length. [4] The inflorescence is dense with flowers, but is more widely spaced as it becomes older, paniculate in character. [8]
Flowering lasts for about a month, but may continue longer when conditions are favorable. [9] Flowering timing depends on weather and may be from April to August in its native habitat. [8] Mertensia lanceolata becomes dormant by early summer, dying back to its substantial roots. [9]
Mertensia lanceolata was scientifically described as a new species by the botanist Frederick Traugott Pursh in 1813 with the name Pulmonaria lanceolata. [3] He described the place of collection simply as "In Upper Louisiana," and noted a resemblance of the flowers to those of Pulmonaria paniculata . [10] In 1822 Barthélemy Charles Joseph Dumortier published a description where he moved the species to a new genus named CasseliaDumort., which is now regarded as a synonym of Mertensia , but should not be confused with the accepted genus Casselia Nees & Mart.. [3] [11] [12] In 1830 the botanist Robert Sweet asserted that it should be part of genus Lithospermum . It was correctly identified as part of Mertensia and given its present name by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle in 1846. [3]
As of 2024 [update] it is generally accepted under this name including by Plants of the World Online (POWO), [3] World Flora Online, [13] and by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (PLANTS) database. [14]
As of 2024 [update] there are three varieties of this species that are accepted by POWO. [3] A number of books, including the Flora of Colorado and Flora of the Four Corners Region, list an additional variety named Mertensia lanceolata var. nivalis(S.Watson) L.C.Higgins, [6] [4] but this is regarded as a synonym of Mertensia oblongifolia by POWO. [15]
This variety was first described by Aven Nelson in 1902 as a species named Mertensia coriacea. It was reclassified as a variety by Larry C. Higgins (1936-) and Stanley Larson Welsh (1928-) in 1993. [16] It differs from var. lanceolata by having the sepals nearly divided to the base and having pollen bearing structures (the anthers) that are longer than the stalks that support them (the filaments). It has leaves that smooth on both sides. [4] It is found in four US states, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico. [16]
The autonymic variety of Mertensia lanceolata can be distinguished from the other varieties by the sepals not being completely divided to their base and the stalks of the stamens are longer than the pollen structures they support (the anthers). [4] The range of the variety is almost identical to the species as a whole, being found in seven US states and three Canadian provinces. [14] [17]
This variety was described by Theodore D. A. Cockerell in 1907 as a species named Mertensia secundorum, but then reduced to a variety by in a publication in 1918. [18] It has leaves that are covered in bristles on both sides. [8] The PLANTS database shows it as found in Natrona and Converse Counties in Wyoming and having been found in Colorado without a specific location. [19]
The scientific name of the species, lanceolata, means "lance shaped" describing the shape of its basal leaves. [8] The species has many common names in English including "prairie bluebells", "lance-leaved bluebells", "lanceleaf chiming bells", "narrow-leaved languid ladies", "lance-leaved lungwort", "lanceleaf mertansia", and "foothill mertensia". [14] [5] [1] [8] [20]
Mertensia lanceolata grows in the Rocky Mountains from northern New Mexico in the south to Alberta in Canada, including Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, and Montana. It also grows in some states and provinces to the east of the Rockies, Manitoba and Saskatchewan in Canada, and Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota in the United States. [14] [21]
They grow in a variety of habitats including in forests, the edges of woodlands, stream banks, prairies, rocky hillsides, and alpine tundra. [8] [22]
NatureServe has evaluated the species as "Globally Secure" (G5), but its status has not been reviewed since 1988. At that time they found the species to be "Vulnerable" (S3) in Saskatchewan and "Imperiled" (S2) in Alberta, Manitoba, and Nebraska. They assessed it as "Apparently Secure" (S4) in Wyoming and did not evaluate it at the state level for the rest of its range. [1]
In a study of the forest after the Hayman Fire in Colorado, similar numbers of Mertensia lanceolata plants were found before and after the fire. [23] The species is associated with a history of low-intensity forest fires in ponderosa pine forests at sites along the Front Range in Colorado. [24] Between 1981 and 1996 it expanded from being found in the lower mountain and upper montane forest life zones in Colorado, into the alpine tundra without colonizing the subalpine zone in between. [22]
Narrow-leaved languid ladies are valued by wildflower gardeners for its dainty vibrant blue flower display and long season of blooming when moisture is good. They grow in either well draining or clay soils and is tolerant of limestone derived soils. Plants will live for many years when given space to grow its deep, branching taproot. [9] It is also rated as with the lowest possible flammability for landscaping to create defensible space by Colorado State University Extension. [25] A germination study of languid ladies found that the species exhibits very little need for cold stratification with 70% of seeds sprouting after four weeks at 21 °C (70 °F), though germination was accelerated by being held at 4.5 °C (40.1 °F) for three months before planting. After just two days the cold treated seeds had 30% germination rates. [26] The species is winter hardy to USDA zone 4. [8] Plants are rarely available from commercial growers and the seeds are somewhat rare even from wildflower seed exchanges. [8]
Trillium erectum, the red trillium, also known as wake robin, purple trillium, bethroot, or stinking benjamin, is a species of flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae. The plant takes its common name "wake robin" by analogy with the European robin, which has a red breast heralding spring. Likewise Trillium erectum is a spring ephemeral plant whose life-cycle is synchronized with that of the forests in which it lives. It is native to the eastern United States and eastern Canada from northern Georgia to Quebec and New Brunswick.
Clintonia is a genus of flowering plants in the lily family Liliaceae. Plants of the genus are distributed across the temperate regions of North America and eastern Asia, in the mesic understory of deciduous or coniferous forests. The genus, first described by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque in 1818, was named for DeWitt Clinton (1769–1828), a naturalist and politician from the U.S. state of New York. For this reason, plants of the genus are commonly known as Clinton's lily. The common name bluebead refer to the distinctive fruit of members of the genus. Since fruit color varies somewhat across species, the common name bead lily is used as well.
Dasiphora fruticosa is a species of hardy deciduous flowering shrub in the family Rosaceae, native to the cool temperate and subarctic regions of the northern hemisphere, often growing at high altitudes in mountains. Dasiphora fruticosa is still widely referenced in the horticultural literature under its synonym Potentilla fruticosa. Common names include shrubby cinquefoil, golden hardhack, bush cinquefoil, shrubby five-finger, widdy, kuril tea and tundra rose.
Campanula rotundifolia, the harebell, Scottish bluebell, or bluebell of Scotland, is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family Campanulaceae. This herbaceous perennial is found throughout the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. In Scotland, it is often known simply as bluebell. It is the floral emblem of Sweden where it is known as small bluebell. It produces its violet-blue, bell-shaped flowers in late summer and autumn.
Mertensia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae. They are perennial herbaceous plants with blue or sometimes white flowers that open from pink-tinged buds. Such a change in flower color is common in Boraginaceae and is caused by an increase of pH in the flower tissue. Mertensia is one of several plants that are commonly called "bluebell". In spite of their common name, the flowers are usually salverform (trumpet-shaped) rather than campanulate (bell-shaped).
Maianthemum canadense is an understory perennial flowering plant, native to Canada and the northeastern United States, from Yukon and British Columbia east to Newfoundland, into St. Pierre and Miquelon. It can be found growing in both coniferous and deciduous forests. The plant appears in two forms, either as a single leaf rising from the ground with no fruiting structures or as a flowering/fruiting stem with two to three leaves. Flowering shoots have clusters of 12–25 starry-shaped, white flowers held above the leaves.
Mertensia virginica is a spring ephemeral plant in the Boraginaceae (borage) family with bell-shaped sky-blue flowers, native to eastern North America.
Tiarella cordifolia, the heart-leaved foamflower, is a species of flowering plant in the family Saxifragaceae. The specific name cordifolia means "with heart-shaped leaves", a characteristic shared by all taxa of Tiarella in eastern North America. It is also referred to as Allegheny foamflower, false miterwort, and coolwort.
Trillium ovatum, the Pacific trillium, also known as the western wakerobin, western white trillium, or western trillium, is a species of flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae. It is found in western North America, from southern British Columbia and the tip of southwestern Alberta to central California, east to Idaho and western Montana. There is an isolated population in northern Colorado and southern Wyoming.
Anemone hepatica, the common hepatica, liverwort, liverleaf, kidneywort, or pennywort, is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae, native to woodland in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. This herbaceous perennial grows from a rhizome.
Geum triflorum, commonly known as prairie smoke, old man's whiskers, torchflower, three-sisters, long-plumed purple avens, lion's beard, or three-flowered avens, is a spring-blooming perennial herbaceous plant of the Rosaceae family. It is a hemiboreal continental climate species that is widespread in colder and drier environments of western North America, although it does occur in isolated populations as far east as New York and Ontario. It is particularly known for the long feathery plumes on the seed heads that have inspired many of the regional common names and aid in wind dispersal of its seeds.
Symphyotrichum laeve is a flowering plant native to Canada, the United States, and Coahuila (Mexico). It has the common names of smooth blue aster, smooth aster, smooth-leaved aster, glaucous Michaelmas-daisy and glaucous aster.
Dudleya lanceolata is a succulent plant known by the common name lanceleaf liveforever or lance-leaved dudleya. It is an extremely variable and widely ranging species that occurs from Monterey County and Kern County in California south through Ensenada in Baja California. It is characterized by green to purple lanceolate leaves, red, orange, or less commonly yellow petals, and is typically tetraploid. Despite its diversity, it is quite stable as a species, but hybrids may be discovered with other species of Dudleya, which can make it difficult to discern in areas where numerous species converge.
Alisma lanceolatum is a species of aquatic plant in the water plantain family known by the common names lanceleaf water plantain and narrow-leaved water plantain. It is widespread across Europe, North Africa and temperate Asia. It is naturalized in Australia, New Zealand, Oregon, California and British Columbia. It is considered a noxious weed in some places.
Monardella breweri subsp. lanceolata, synonym Monardella lanceolata, is a species of flowering plant in the mint family. It is known by the common names mustang mint and mustang monardella. It is native to the mountains of California and Baja California, where it grows in chaparral, woodland, rocky slopes, and often disturbed habitat types.
Penstemon grandiflorus, known by the common names shell-leaved penstemon, shell-leaf beardtongue, or large-flowered penstemon, is a tall and showy plant in the Penstemon genus from the plains of North America. Due to its large flowers it has found a place in gardens, particularly ones aimed at low water usage like xeriscape gardens.
Claytonia rosea, commonly called Rocky Mountain spring beauty, western springbeauty or Madrean springbeauty, is a diminutive spring blooming ephemeral plant with pale pink to magenta flowers. It grows a small round tuberous root and it one of the earliest wildflowers of spring in its range. It is found in dry meadows in forests of ponderosa and Chihuahuan pines, and moist ledges of mountain slopes of the Beaver Dam Mountains of Utah, Colorado Front Range, and Sierra Madre Occidental, south and east to the Sierra Maderas del Carmen of Coahuila.
Platanthera dilatata, known as tall white bog orchid, bog candle, or boreal bog orchid is a species of orchid, a flowering plant in the family Orchidaceae, native to North America. It was first formally described in 1813 by Frederick Traugott Pursh as Orchis dilatata.
Penstemon secundiflorus, commonly known as sidebells penstemon, or orchid beardtoungue is a species of Penstemon that grows in dry forests, high plains, and scrub lands from Wyoming to Mexico. It is a herbaceous perennial plant that typically grows to a height of 20 to 50 cm and has narrow, lance-shaped leaves that are grayish-green in color. The flowers of the sidebells penstemon are tubular in shape and are arranged in a one-sided spike, with the blooms all facing the same direction, and for this reason was named "secundiflorus", which means "one-sided flowers". The flowers are most often delicate shades of orchid or lavender. It is sometimes used in xeriscaping, rock gardens, and wildflower meadows, and is well-suited to dry, sunny locations with well-drained soil.
Penstemon caespitosus, commonly known as mat penstemon, is a summer blooming perennial flower in the large Penstemon genus. It is a widespread plant from near timberline to the foothills in the Southern Rocky Mountains and Colorado Plateau in North America. It is noted for its ground hugging growth habit and as a plant used in xeriscape and rock gardening.