''Mertensia ciliata'' is a species of flowering plant in the

borage family Boraginaceae, the borage or forget-me-not family, includes about 2,000 species of shrubs, trees and herbs in 146, to 156 genera with a worldwide distribution. The APG IV system from 2016 classifies the Boraginaceae as single family of the order ...

known by the common names tall fringed bluebells, mountain bluebells, and streamside bluebells.

Distribution

It is native to the western United States, in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

, and Oregon. 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.

Description

''Mertensia ciliata'' is a perennial herb producing a cluster of erect stems from a thick, branching

caudex A caudex (plural: caudices) of a plant is a stem, but the term is also used to mean a rootstock and particularly a basal stem structure from which new growth arises.pages 456 and 695 In the strict sense of the term, meaning a stem, "caudex" is m ...

. The leafy stems reach well over a meter in maximum height. The veiny leaves are oval to lance-shaped and pointed. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

is an open array of many clustered blue bell-shaped flowers each between 1 and 2 centimeters long. 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. The flowers bear poricidal anthers and are fertilized via buzz-pollination by several ''

Bombus A bumblebee (or bumble bee, bumble-bee, or humble-bee) is any of over 250 species in the genus ''Bombus'', part of Apidae, one of the bee families. This genus is the only extant group in the tribe Bombini, though a few extinct related gener ...

'' species. Primary

Nectar robbing Nectar robbing is a foraging behavior utilized by some organisms that feed on floral nectar, carried out by feeding from holes bitten in flowers, rather than by entering through the flowers' natural openings. "Nectar robbers" usually feed in this ...

by ''

'' species, including ''

Bombus occidentalis ''Bombus occidentalis'', the western bumblebee, is one of around 30 bumblebee species present in the western United States and western Canada.

'' is common in some populations.

Uses

The flowers, young stems and leaves are edible raw; older leaves (when the plant tends to be hairy) should be cooked. The plant contains

alkaloid Alkaloids are a class of basic, naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. This group also includes some related compounds with neutral and even weakly acidic properties. Some synthetic compounds of similar ...

s so should not be eaten in high quantities.

References

External links

* * *
Jepson Manual Treatment
* {{- ciliata Edible plants Flora of California Flora of Nevada Flora of Oregon Flora of Utah Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Flora of the Great Basin Flora without expected TNC conservation status