Common Names: Aspen Bluebells
Synonyms: Mertensia arizonica var. grahamii, Mertensia arizonica var. leonardii, Mertensia arizonica var. subnuda
Taxonomy: Forget-Me-Not (Boraginaceae)
Habit: perennial forb, herb
Size: up to 3’
Flowers: Blue, 5 petals
Bloom: May, Jun, Jul, Aug
Leaves: alternate
Fruit: Nutlets
Description:
Leaves are relatively large, hairless, widest towards the base, with a prominent center vein and branched side veins. Upper stem leaves are only slightly smaller than those below. Flowers are in open, nodding clusters, on arching stalks from the top of the stem and the upper leaf nodes. The corolla is pink in bud, later blue, and up to 0.8 inches long. The corolla lobes are markedly longer than the tube. The green calyx is at most 0.3 inches long, lobed to about half its length.
Distribution: AZ, CO, NV, UT, WY
Despite its species name, mertensia arizonica is most abundant in Utah; in Arizona it occurs only in the far north, in Coconino county.
Habitat:
