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

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

Distribution

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

Description

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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

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  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.
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