Mertensia virginica (L.) Pers. ex Link
Virginia bluebells
These attractive flowers are native to eastern North America.
Plants: 1½–2′ (45–60 cm) tall. Stems are smooth, light green or occasionally purplish, hairless, and fragile.
Leaves: Ovate, alternate, blue- or gray-green, with smooth edges, up to 5″ (13 cm) long. They typically have winged petioles up to 2½″ (6.3 cm) long.
Flowers: Loose cymes of hanging, tumpet-shaped blue flowers, with a delicate fragrance. Each flower has five petals, fused into a tube, five white stamens, and a long, slender white pistil. It is ¾–1¼″ (1.9–3.2 cm) long. Buds are purplish pink. Flowers appear from March to April.
Fruits: 4-lobed fruits (schizocarps) contain 4 nutlets per flower. Nutlets are wrinkly, dark brown, ovoid, and flattened on one side.
Habitats: Rich, moist woods and on low, wooded hillsides.
Online References:
5/12/2025 · Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, Boothbay, Maine 
5/23/2024 · Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, Boothbay, Maine 
5/26/2024 · McLaughlin Garden and Homestead, South Paris, Maine 
5/23/2024 · Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, Boothbay, Maine 
4/7/2012 · Ladew Topiary Gardens, Monkton, Maryland · ≈ 17 × 12″ (44 × 29 cm) 
5/26/2024 · McLaughlin Garden and Homestead, South Paris, Maine 
4/7/2012 · Ladew Topiary Gardens, Monkton, Maryland · ≈ 10 × 9″ (25 × 21 cm) 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients |
| Division | Magnoliophyta | Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms |
| Class | Magnoliopsida | Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves |
| Subclass | Asteridae | A large class that encompasses asters |
| Order | Lamiales | Aromatic herbs and shrubs, including lavender, lilac, olive, jasmine, ash, teak, snapdragon, sesame, psyllium, garden sage, mint, basil, and rosemary |
| Family | Boraginaceae | Borages or forget-me-nots |
| Genus | Mertensia | Named by A.W. Roth in honor of German botanist Franz Karl Mertens (1764-1831) |
| Species | virginica | From or referring to Virginia |
Mertensia virginica description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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