Mertensia paniculata (Aiton) G. Don var. paniculata
tall bluebells
Boraginaceae (Borage family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
tall bluebells
Boraginaceae (Borage family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
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Map
Distribution of Mertensia paniculata var. paniculata
Click here to view the full interactive map and legend
Species Information
General:
Perennial herb from a taproot and stout rhizome or branched base; stems several, erect or ascending, glabrous or hairy, 0.2-1.5 m tall.
Leaves:
Basal leaves long-stalked and more or less heart-shaped; stem leaves numerous, well-developed, mostly short-stalked, lanceolate to broadly egg-shaped with abruptly sharp-pointed tips, 3-15 cm long, 1-7 cm wide, becoming smaller and unstalked upward, with short, straight, appressed- or stiff-spreading hairs; entire, alternate.
Flowers:
Few to many in generally branched, compact to open terminal clusters, or with some solitary in leaf axils; corollas tubular bell-shaped, blue to pink (pink in bud), 9-19 mm long; petals fused below into a tube 5-8 mm long, flaring at top to bell-shaped limb (a bit longer than the tube) and 5 short lobes, with 5 bulges at the throat.
Fruits:
Nutlets 4, clustered together, 2.5-5 mm long, wrinkled.
Notes:
Two varieties occur in BC:
1. Leaves straight appressed-hairy to spreading coarse-hairy on both surfaces; calyces hairy; plants infrequent to frequent throughout BC........................ var. paniculata
1. Leaves glabrous above; calyces glabrous; plants rare, known only from extreme SE BC.......................... var. borealis (J.F. Macbr.) L.O. Williams
Illustration
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Mertensia paniculata var. paniculata
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
| Site Information |
Value / Class |
||
|
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
| Elevation
(metres) |
1442 | 990 | 1890 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
13 | 0 | 50 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
140 | 90 | 240 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
4 | 2 | 7 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
B | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
8 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
BAFA | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
BAFA(3), BWBS(3), ESSF(1), SWB(1) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Wet to mesic meadows, streambanks and open forests in the montane, subalpine and alpine zones; frequent in N BC, infrequent southward; N to AK, YT, and NT, E to PQ and S to IA, MT, ID and OR.Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Mertensia palmeri A. Nelson & J.F. Macbr.
Mertensia pilosa (Cham.) DC.