''Mertensia maritima'' 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 orde ...

, and is known by the common names oyster leaf in North America, oyster plant in the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

, and sea bluebells. It is restricted to gravelly sea shores, usually within reach of the highest winter tides in the Northern Hemisphere, reaching north to the northern parts of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland i ...

and Svalbard. It is a perennial herb producing a stem approaching 50 centimeters in maximum length. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphology (biology), Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of sperma ...

forms a cluster of flowers which are first reddish, and later bright blue.

Description

''Mertensia maritima'' is known as the oyster leaf or oyster plant because it gives off a faint smell of mushrooms and when eaten it tastes vaguely of

oyster Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not ...

s. It is native to Britain and Northern Europe; however, populations in the British Isles are decreasing. There are two other

varieties Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

that exist: *''M. maritima'' var. ''tenella'' is found in Canada and Spitzbergen *''M. maritima'' var. ''asiatica'' is found in Alaska and Northeastern Asia This plant grows on sand or shingle beaches where the ground can be

siliceous Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , most commonly found in nature as quartz and in various living organisms. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is one ...

calcareous Calcareous () is an adjective meaning "mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate", in other words, containing lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of scientific disciplines. In zoology ''Calcareous'' is used as an ad ...

, and contains humus from decaying seaweed. It mainly grows in a

sub-Arctic The subarctic zone is a region in the Northern Hemisphere immediately south of the true Arctic, north of humid continental regions and covering much of Alaska, Canada, Iceland, the north of Scandinavia, Siberia, and the Cairngorms. Generally, ...

climate and is exposed to very cold temperatures, waves that crash on the shore and strong winds. Since the plant grows in a cold climate, the seeds remain dormant. Skarpaas and Stabbetorp noted that a cold period (about ) was needed to break this dormancy.

References

External links

Mertensia maritima upernavik kujalleq 2007-07-25 1

Photo galleryMertensia maritima Grow GuideGlobal distribution
maritima Flora of Greenland Flora of Northern Canada Flora of Svalbard Leaf vegetables {{Asterid-stub