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{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}
{{taxobox
{{Speciesbox
|name = Virginia Bluebell
|image = Virginia Bluebells.jpg
| name = Virginia bluebells
| image = Mertensia virginica.bbg.jpg
|regnum = [[Plantae]]
| genus = Mertensia (plant)
|unranked_divisio = [[Angiosperms]]
| species = virginica
|unranked_classis = [[Eudicots]]
| authority = ([[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]) [[Christiaan Hendrik Persoon|Pers.]] ex [[Johann Heinrich Friedrich Link|Link]], 1829
|unranked_ordo = [[Asterids]]
}}
|ordo = (unplaced)
|familia = [[Boraginaceae]]
|genus = ''[[Mertensia]]''
|species = '''''M. virginica'''''
|binomial = ''Mertensia virginica''
|binomial_authority = [[Johann Heinrich Friedrich Link|Link]]
|}}
The '''Virginia Bluebell''', ''Mertensia virginica'', has many different common names, including "Virginia Cowslip", "Lungwort Oysterleaf", and "Roanoke Bells". It is a [[species]] of [[plant]] belonging to the [[Family (biology)|family]] [[Boraginaceae]]. This bluebell ranges in height from 12~24 inches. The most distinguishing feature of the plant is the noticeable bell-shaped [[flower]], which is usually blue or violet in color.


'''''Mertensia virginica''''' ([[common name]]s '''Virginia bluebells''',<ref>{{PLANTS|id=MEVI3|taxon=Mertensia virginica|accessdate=28 January 2016}}</ref> '''Virginia cowslip''',<ref name="MO">{{cite book |last1=Denison |first1=Edgar |title=Missouri Wildflowers |date=2017 |publisher=Conservation Commission of the State of Missouri |isbn=978-1-887247-59-7 |pages=80}}</ref> '''lungwort oysterleaf''', '''Roanoke bells''') is a spring [[ephemeral plant]] in the [[Boraginaceae]] (borage) family with bell-shaped sky-blue flowers, native to eastern North America.
==Name==
The [[Latin]] name, ''[[Mertensia]]'', was given to this plant by [[Carolus Linnaeus]] in honor of the German botanist [[Franz Mertens]]. The [[specific epithet]] refers to the [[colony of Virginia]].


==Location==
==Description==
Virginia bluebells have rounded (ovate) and gray-green leaves, borne on stems up to {{convert|60|cm|0|abbr=on|order=flip}} tall. The leaves are up to {{convert |13|cm|0|abbr=on|order=flip}} long, smooth (entire) along their margins, [[petiole (botany)|petiolate]] at the bottom of the flower stem, and [[sessility (botany)|sessile]] at the top.<ref name="IL">{{cite web |title=Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica) |url=https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/woodland/plants/bluebells.htm |website=www.illinoiswildflowers.info}}</ref>
This vascular plant originates in eastern [[North America]] and is native to the following states and provinces: [[Alabama]], [[Arkansas]], [[Delaware]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], [[Illinois]], [[Indiana]], [[Iowa]], [[Kansas]], [[Kentucky]], [[Maine]], [[Maryland]], [[Massachusetts]], [[Michigan]], [[Minnesota]], [[Mississippi]], [[Missouri]], [[New Jersey]], [[New York]], [[North Carolina]], [[Ohio]], [[Ontario]], [[Pennsylvania]], [[Quebec]], [[Tennessee]], [[Virginia]], [[West Virginia]] and [[Wisconsin]].


The [[inflorescence]] is a nodding group, or [[cyme (botany)|cyme]] of flowers located at the end of the arched stems.<ref name="IL"/> The flower buds are pink, and the opened flowers are usually light blue, but occasionally pink and rarely white.<ref name="MO"/> The flowers have 5 shallow lobes fused into a tube at the base of the flower, five [[stamen]]s, and a central pistil ([[gynoecium#Carpels|carpel]]).<ref name="IL"/>
The "Virginia Bluebell" is abundant in the Midwest of the [[United States]]. Areas within the [[British Isles]] record [[gardens]] with many individuals as well. The plant can be easily grown with the right conditions.


==Distribution and habitat==
==Description==
''M. virginica'' is 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.<ref>{{cite web |title=NatureServe Explorer 2.0 |url=https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.138078/Mertensia_virginica |website=explorer.natureserve.org}}</ref> The plant can be found in rich, moist woods and on low, wooded hillsides. They often form large groups.<ref name="MO"/>
These [[herbaceous]] plants grow best in moist, rich, and loamy soils. They can be found in [[upland]] [[forest]]s, [[floodplain]] forests, [[wetland]]s and [[Hill|bluffs]]. These plants prefer slight to full shade. The single [[Plant stem|stem]] begins curled in shape and extends as it grows into an elegant arch to hold to blossom cluster. The leaves are alternately located around a thin, smooth stem attached by [[Petiole (botany)|petiole]]s near the base, but as you move upward towards the flower cluster, the leaves are simply attached straight to the stem. The leaves are oval-shaped with pinnately-simple venation. The [[blossom]] cluster is located above the simple leaves. Flowering occurs in spring from March to May.


==Ecology==
[[File:Virginia Bluebell Mertensia virginica Plant 2262px.jpg|thumbnail|right|Early foliage prior to the flowers blooming.]]
The plant develops very early in the spring and flowers mid-spring. In early summer, each fertilized flower produces four seeds within wrinkled [[nut (fruit)|nut]]s. The plant then goes [[dormancy#Plants|dormant]] till the next spring.<ref name="IL"/>
Each blossom consists of five [[petal]]s fused into a tubular shape. The bud begins with a pinkish shade that transforms into a blue-violet color as it matures.<ref name="chesapeake">{{cite web | url = http://www.nps.gov/plants/pubs/Chesapeake/ | title = Native Plants for Wildlife Habitat and Conservation Landscaping: Chesapeake Bay Watershed | author = Slattery, Britt E., Kathryn Reshetiloff, and Susan M. Zwicker | year = 2003 | publisher = U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Chesapeake Bay Field Office, Annapolis, MD }}</ref> White blossoms occur rarely,<ref name="chesapeake"/> and [[soil pH]] can affect flower color.<ref name="chesapeake"/> The flower is approximately one inch deep with five [[stamen]]s surrounding one central [[pistil]]; however, the reproductive organs are spaced too far from one another for self-fertilization. The flower can be pollinated by [[bumblebee]]s, but due to its funnel shape, bumblebees must hover, making the bumblebee a rare [[pollinator]]. [[Butterflies]] are the most common pollinators, because they can easily perch on the edges and still enjoy the [[nectar]]. Each plant produces four wrinkled [[Nut (fruit)|nut]]s containing [[seed]]s. The flowers die rather quickly, and the plants are usually [[dormant]] by early June or July.


The flowers attract long-tongued bees, such as bumblebees, butterflies, moths, skippers, hummingbird moths, flower flies, bee flies, and hummingbirds.<ref>{{cite web |title=Virginia Bluebells, Mertensia virginica |url=https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/virginia-bluebells-mertensia-virginica/ |website=Wisconsin Horticulture}}</ref>
==Cultivation==
Plants should be spaced nine to twelve inches apart in acidic to mildly alkaline soils. They are hardy to a minimum winter temperature near -24° [[Fahrenheit]]. Bareroot plants can be planted at any time during dormancy, and are usually available from nurseries in the fall and spring. Since the plants make growth early in the spring, they should be planted as early as possible. Potted plants can be purchased from the nursery and planted at any time, although, of course, in the summer and fall the pots will contain only the dormant root and no growth will be visible above the soil. Virginia bluebells can also be grown in an unheated [[greenhouse]]. Seeds can be stratified for sowing indoors and then planted outdoors as young plants. Virginia bluebells are not suitable for growing indoors. Although Virginia bluebells can be propagated by seed, plants can also be divided in the early spring by gently pulling apart the root stock to transplant the divided plants.


== Uses ==
Because these are ephemeral plants, meaning that they grow and flower quickly and go dormant for the rest of the growing season, it is also suggested that one should plant these flowers close to flowers that bloom later in the year. This way, your garden will have color in that area for more of the summer season.
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.).<ref>{{Cite web |title=BRIT - Native American Ethnobotany Database |url=http://naeb.brit.org/uses/species/2467/ |access-date=2022-03-10 |website=naeb.brit.org}}</ref> Native Americans believed a tonic made from this plant could help heal those who were under-the-weather.


''Mertensia virginica'' is edible, including the flowers.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-04-17 |title=Virginia Bluebells |url=https://foragerchef.com/virginia-bluebells/ |access-date=2022-03-10 |website=Forager Chef |language=en-US}}</ref>
==References==
<references/>


In cultivation, ''M. virginica'' has gained the [[Royal Horticultural Society]]'s [[Award of Garden Merit]].<ref>{{cite web | url= https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/pdfs/agm-lists/agm-ornamentals.pdf | title = AGM Plants - Ornamental | date = July 2017
==External links==
| page = 64 | publisher = Royal Horticultural Society | accessdate = 4 April 2018}}</ref>
{{commonscat}}
*[http://www.fs.fed.us/ne/delaware/ilpin/1908.co Illinois Plant Information Network]
*[http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=MEVI3 NRCS: USDA Plants Profile and map: ''M. virginica'']
*Photo Credit: National Park Service[http://www.nps.gov/mono/pphtml/subplants11.html]


<gallery>
<gallery caption="Photos">
Virginia Bluebells at Rocky River.jpg|Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica) in Ohio
File:Virginia Bluebell Mertensia virginica Unopened Flowers 2256px.jpg|Unopened flower buds in early spring
Image:Bluebell closeup.png|''M. virginica'' in [[Shades State Park]], Indiana.
Virginia Bluebell Mertensia virginica Plant 2262px.jpg|Leaves before blooming
Mertensia buds cropped.png|Flower buds
Image:Mertensia virginica Nashville.jpg|''M. virginica'' in Nashville, Tennessee.
Mertensia virginica (Flower).jpg|Typical blue-flowered form at the [[Berlin-Dahlem Botanical Garden and Botanical Museum|botanical gardens]] in [[Berlin]], [[Germany]]
Image:Mertensia virginica MS 0119.jpg|''M. virginica'' in Frankfurt.
Mertensia-virginica-pink-2014-05-05-Fox-Chapel-PA.jpg|A pink-flowered form
Bluebell3.jpg|A white-flowered form
Mertensia_virginica_seeds.jpg|Fruits
Mertensia virginica colony in floodplain forest habitat 2.jpg|Woods carpeted in bluebells
Bumblebee hanging from bluebell.jpg|A bumblebee hanging from a bluebell
</gallery>
</gallery>


==Nomenclature==
[[Category:Boraginaceae]]
''Mertensia virginica'' is the [[type species]] for the [[genus]] ''Mertensia'' and was first [[Species description|described]] by [[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]] in 1753 as ''Pulmonaria virginica''.<ref name=Linnaeus1753>Carl von Linné (Linnaeus). 1753. ''Species Plantarum'' 1:135. (see ''External links'' below)</ref> The genus ''Pulmonaria'' is today restricted to 19 species in the [[Tribe (biology)|tribe]] [[Boragineae]]. When [[Albrecht Wilhelm Roth]] erected the genus ''Mertensia'' in 1797, he [[Botanical name|named]] the Virginia bluebell as ''Mertensia pulmonarioides'', apparently unaware that Linnaeus had already [[Binomial nomenclature|named]] it in his ''[[Species Plantarum]]''. Roth's [[Scientific name|name]] is a superfluous [[Synonym (botany)|synonym]] and has been used in recent [[Scientific literature|literature]].<ref name=pringle2004>James S. Pringle. 2004. "Nomenclature of the Virginia-bluebell, ''Mertensia virginica'' (Boraginaceae)". SIDA, contributions to botany 21(2):771-775.(see ''External links'' below)</ref>
[[Category:Wildflowers of the Great Smoky Mountains]]

[[Category:Flora of Ontario]][[Category:Native Forbs of Ontario]]
==References==
[[Category:Flora of Quebec]]
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Mertensia virginica}}
*[http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=mevi3 Wildflower.org: Native Plant Identification Network]
*[http://www.missouriplants.com/Bluealt/Mertensia_virginica_page.html Missouri Plants: ''Mertensia virginica'']
*[http://www.fs.fed.us/ne/delaware/ilpin/1908.co Illinois Plant Information Network: ''Mertensia virginica'']
*[http://apps.rhs.org.uk/plantselector/plant?plantid=1274 RHS Plant Selector: ''Mertensia virginica'']
*[http://www.botanicus.org/page/358154 ''Pulmonaria''] {{Color|green|In}} [http://www.botanicus.org/title/b12069590 ''Species Plantarum'' vol. 1] {{Color|green|At}} [[Botanicus]]
*[https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/34585#page/791/mode/1up Nomenclature of the Virginia bluebell] {{Color|green|At}} [https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/34585#page/1/mode/1up Volume 21, View Book] {{Color|green|At}} [https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/8113#/summary SIDA, contributions to botany] {{Color|green|At}} [https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/ BHL]
* {{CalPhotos|Mertensia|virginica}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q12901028}}


[[Category:Flora of Indiana]]
[[Category:Mertensia|virginica]]
[[Category:Flora of Michigan]]
[[Category:Flora of Eastern Canada]]
[[Category:Flora of New Jersey]]
[[Category:Flora of the Eastern United States]]
[[Category:Flora of New York]]
[[Category:Flora of Ohio]]
[[Category:Flora of Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Flora of West Virginia]]
[[Category:Flora of Illinois]]
[[Category:Flora of Kansas]]
[[Category:Flora of Minnesota]]
[[Category:Flora of Missouri]]
[[Category:Flora of Wisconsin]]
[[Category:Flora of Alabama]]
[[Category:Flora of Arkansas]]
[[Category:Flora of Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:Flora of Kentucky]]
[[Category:Flora of Maryland]]
[[Category:Flora of North Carolina]]
[[Category:Flora of Tennessee]]
[[Category:Flora of Virginia]]

Latest revision as of 05:36, 22 May 2024

Virginia bluebells
Scientific classification Edit this 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. ex Link, 1829

Mertensia virginica (common names Virginia bluebells,[1] Virginia cowslip,[2] lungwort oysterleaf, Roanoke bells) is a spring ephemeral plant in the Boraginaceae (borage) family with bell-shaped sky-blue flowers, native to eastern North America.

Description

[edit]

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, petiolate at the bottom of the flower stem, and sessile at the top.[3]

The inflorescence is a nodding group, or cyme of flowers located at the end of the arched stems.[3] The flower buds are pink, and the opened flowers are usually light blue, but occasionally pink and rarely white.[2] The flowers have 5 shallow lobes fused into a tube at the base of the flower, five stamens, and a central pistil (carpel).[3]

Distribution and habitat

[edit]

M. virginica is 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.[4] The plant can be found in rich, moist woods and on low, wooded hillsides. They often form large groups.[2]

Ecology

[edit]

The plant develops very early in the spring and flowers mid-spring. In early summer, each fertilized flower produces four seeds within wrinkled nuts. The plant then goes dormant till the next spring.[3]

The flowers attract long-tongued bees, such as bumblebees, butterflies, moths, skippers, hummingbird moths, flower flies, bee flies, and hummingbirds.[5]

Uses

[edit]

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.).[6] Native Americans believed a tonic made from this plant could help heal those who were under-the-weather.

Mertensia virginica is edible, including the flowers.[7]

In cultivation, M. virginica has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[8]

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

Nomenclature

[edit]

Mertensia virginica is the type species for the genus Mertensia and was first described by Linnaeus in 1753 as Pulmonaria virginica.[9] The genus Pulmonaria is today restricted to 19 species in the tribe Boragineae. When Albrecht Wilhelm Roth erected the genus Mertensia in 1797, he named the Virginia bluebell as Mertensia pulmonarioides, apparently unaware that Linnaeus had already named it in his Species Plantarum. Roth's name is a superfluous synonym and has been used in recent literature.[10]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ NRCS. "Mertensia virginica". PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  2. ^ a b c Denison, Edgar (2017). Missouri Wildflowers. Conservation Commission of the State of Missouri. p. 80. ISBN 978-1-887247-59-7.
  3. ^ a b c d "Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica)". www.illinoiswildflowers.info.
  4. ^ "NatureServe Explorer 2.0". explorer.natureserve.org.
  5. ^ "Virginia Bluebells, Mertensia virginica". Wisconsin Horticulture.
  6. ^ "BRIT - Native American Ethnobotany Database". naeb.brit.org. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
  7. ^ "Virginia Bluebells". Forager Chef. 2021-04-17. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
  8. ^ "AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 64. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  9. ^ Carl von Linné (Linnaeus). 1753. Species Plantarum 1:135. (see External links below)
  10. ^ James S. Pringle. 2004. "Nomenclature of the Virginia-bluebell, Mertensia virginica (Boraginaceae)". SIDA, contributions to botany 21(2):771-775.(see External links below)
[edit]
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