#Mertensia

[oliviarosaline]

Wildflowers flourishing along a tranquil Ozarkian trail. It was a blessing to enjoy this beautiful place where the sun kissed spots of the blue forest floor and only the sound of bird songs and soft wind whispered through the trees. The blue-eyed mary (Collinsia verna) and virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica) thriving on the forest floor are both native spring ephemerals found throughout the central and eastern parts of North America.

April 17th, 2023

Washington County, Missouri, USA

Olivia R. Myers

@oliviarosaline

[jillraggett]

Plant of the Day

Tuesday 15 August 2023

A native species of northern coasts Mertensia maritima (oyster plant) is flowering on the sandy Orkney beach. This hairless perennial species trails on the ground and forms a prostrate cushion of blue-grey succulent leaves.

Jill Raggett

[theroadtofairyland]

Belles

Watercolor on Birch Panel

2022, 11"x 14"

Virginia Bluesbells, Mertensia virginica

[faguscarolinensis]

Mertensia virginica / Virginia Bluebells at the Sarah P. Duke Gardens at Duke University in Durham, NC

[atthebell]

Trick or treat! :)

you get these chocolate pistachio babka rolls i made one time!! photo not mine but they looked pretty much like this

[geopsych]

Virginia bluebells starting to open in the garden.

[poop-me-a-flower]

Bluebells in the yard!

[blackswallowtailbutterfly]

Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica)

Blue flowers are relatively rare. Most incline to violet or else are quite small. But Virginia bluebells are a striking exception. All my photos from my garden, unedited.

I'm not kidding. They really are that blue naturally. They bloom in May. Then they slowly decline and the entire plants are gone above soil by the summer. Only to reappear the following spring! The shoots and flower buds are edible. You don't want to take too much, though. As spring ephemerals, they need the energy they make with their leaves during their short growing period. The short bloom period is also why I don't have more photos of them. They don't even bloom every year.

[vandaliatraveler]

Nothing like a passel of Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginica) to lift the spirits after a drab and dreary winter. Spring has returned to Central Appalachia’s rich, mesic woods.  Photo above is from a hike this past weekend in Core Arboretum, whose expansive floodplain forest is now alive with spring ephemerals.

[maoyeamh]

[tinyurbanwilderness]

Some things in my yard. I cultivated some, others are growing wild.

[jillraggett]

Plant of the Day

Tuesday 4 July 202

Found growing in a sandy bay on Orkney was Mertensia maritima (oyster leaf plant, sea bluebells). The blue-green, fleshy leaves of this plant are edible with a distinctive salty flavour.

Jill Raggett

[thebotanicalarcade]

n107_w1150 by Biodiversity Heritage Library Via Flickr: Wild plants needing protection.. New York,New York Botanical Garden,1912-[1929]. biodiversitylibrary.org/page/11447760

[faguscarolinensis]

Mertensia virginica / Virginia Bluebells at the Sarah P. Duke Gardens at Duke University in Durham, NC

[geopsych]

Virginia bluebells, Mertensia virginica, in the garden.

[the-veronica-speedwell-blog]

vsm moodboard five - mertensia

But I suspected it had been a very long time since Mertensia had enjoyed intimate conversation with a woman near her own age. I might have maneuvered her into further confidences, but it occurred to me a direct approach was the most likely to bear fruit.

- a dangerous collaboration