MERTENSIA 



MERTENSIA 



2039 



While Mertensia virginica grows well in full sun, it 

 does almost as well in shady situations. It makes its 

 growth early in the spring before the shade under the 

 trees becomes very dense, and the foliage, which dis- 

 appears after blooming, seems to ripen as readily in the 

 shade as in the open. As large masses of this plant are 

 effective, and as the blank left by the disappearing 

 foliage precludes its being grown in the open border, it 

 is fortunate that it will adapt itself to shady places 

 where its yellowing foliage may be somewhat hidden 

 and its absence during the summer be unnoticed. 

 (W. C. Egan.) 



INDEX. 



alpina, 7. 

 chitralensis, 11. 

 ciliata, 5. 

 echioides, 9, 12. 

 elongata, 9. 



lanceolata, 10. 

 maritima, 1. 

 oblongifolia, 3. 

 paniculata, 6. 

 papillosa, 8. 



primuloides, 11. 

 pulmonarioides, 2. 

 rubra, 2. 

 sibirica, 4. 

 virginica, 2. 



A. Plant fleshy, glaucous and very smooth. 



1. maritima, S. F. Gray (Pneumdria maritima, Hill. 

 Pulmonaria maritima, Linn.). LUNGWORT. On sea- 

 coasts from Mass, northward and in Eu. and Asia, 

 likely to be planted in seaside places but apparently 

 not in the trade: a spreading or ascending plant with 

 branches 1 ft. or so long: Ivs. fleshy, ovate to spatulate 

 and oblong, entire, upper surface becoming blistered: 

 fls. i/jin. or less long, blue or whitish. 



AA. Plant not prominently fleshy, smooth or essentially so. 



(Nos. 9 and 10 may be sought here}. 



B. Fls. trumpet-shaped, the open part not prominently 



5-lobed; filaments much longer than the anthers. 



2. virginica, DC. (M. pulmonarioides, Roth). VIR- 

 GINIAN COWSLIP. BLUEBELLS. Fig. 2363. Vol. Ill, 

 pi. LIII. Very smooth and glabrous, 1-2 ft.: Ivs. obo- 

 vate or oblong, or the lowest large, rounded and long- 

 stalked; veins conspicuous: fls. at length more nodding 

 than shown in Fig. 2363. Spring. N. Y. and westward 

 to S. C. and Tenn., usually inhabiting low or moist 

 grounds. B.M. 160 (as Pulmonaria). Gn. 23, p. 463, 

 and 32, p. 173. J.H. III. 43:210. G. 6:115. Gn.M. 

 15:306. V. 3:181; 7:244; 11:180; 12:140. Mn. 4:33. 

 Var. rftbra, Hort., has pink-colored fls. 



BB. Fls. with the upper part more bell-shaped and promi- 

 nent spreading lobes; filaments shorter than the 

 anthers or only a little longer. 



3. oblongifolia, Don. About 12 in. high, smooth or 

 very nearly so: Ivs. mostly oblong or spatulate-lanceo- 

 late, somewhat succulent, veins inconspicuous : fls. 

 blue in a rather close cluster, the corolla-tube 2-3 times 

 length of the limb and also of the calyx; calyx-lobes 

 acute. Mont, to Wash. Not easy to cult. 



4. sibirica, Don. Glabrous, 1-5 ft. high: Ivs. round- 

 ish or broadly elliptic, somewhat fleshy, the upper ones 

 very acute or acuminate and ovate: fls. purplish blue, 

 in long racemes; the fls. sometimes vary to white. 

 E. Siberia. Gn. 18:514. Offered by some American 

 dealers. 



5. ciliata, Don. The N. American plants heretofore 

 referred to M . sibirica are now separated as M . ciliata, 

 being specially marked by a short calyx with oval or 

 oblong obtuse cilate lobes: glabrous, pale and glauces- 

 cent, very leafy, 1-3 ft.: Ivs. oblong or lance-ovate, 

 .ciliate on the margins, mostly acute or acuminate, the 

 basal ones ovate or subcordate: fls. bright blue, the 

 tube 3-5 times as long as the calyx-lobes. Rocky Mts. 

 W. and N.; also in the trade. G. 27:661. A handsome 

 species, with bell-shaped blossoms and pinkish buds. 



6. paniculata, Don. Greener than M. sibirica, rough- 

 ish and more or less pubescent: st.-lvs. ovate to oblong- 

 lanceolate: fls. blue, in loosely panicled racemes; calyx- 

 lobes acute, lanceolate or linear. Lake Superior and 

 north, E. Asia. B.M. 2680 and B.R. 146 (as Pulmonaria 

 paniculata) . 



7. alpina, Don. Mostly smooth and somewhat glau- 

 cous but sometimes pubescent, only a few inches high: 

 Ivs. oblong, spatulate or lanceolate, somewhat obtuse, 

 the cauline sessile: fls. blue, crowded, corolla %-% m - 

 long, the tube rarely exceeding the corolla-limb and 

 equally or slightly exceeding the lanceolate calyx-lobes; 

 anthers nearly sessile. Subalpine places in the Rocky 

 Mts. 



AAA. Plant not prominently fleshy, more or less hairy 



(at least the Ivs.). 

 B. Corolla-tube little if any longer than calyx. 



8. papillosa, Greene. Sparingly leafy, 12 in. or less 

 high: Ivs. oblong and revolute, densely papillose (with 

 many minute projections) and hairy above, smooth 

 beneath, scabrous on margins: fls. blue, panicled, the 

 corolla small and almost tubular, with a narrow limb 

 and shallow lobes. Mountains of Colo. Offered in 

 the W. 



9. elongata, Benth. (M. echioides var. elongata, 

 Hort.?). Sts. 8 in., hairy: Ivs. somewhat hairy, oblong 



2363. Mertensia virginica. 

 In early stage of an thesis; 

 becoming nodding or pendu- 

 lous. 



to spatulate, the cauline sessile: fls. blue, in many-fid, 

 elongating racemes, the corolla-tube little exceeding the 

 calyx, the throat bearing very small scales and the 

 lobes spreading. Kashmir. G.C. III. 47:390 (as M. 

 echioides var. lanceolata). 



BB. Corolla-tube conspicuously longer than calyx. 



10. lanceolata, DC. Dwarf, 8 in. or less high: Ivs. 

 closely or minutely pubescent on upper surface but 

 otherwise glabrous, glaucescent, spatulate to lance- 

 linear, somewhat fleshy: fls. blue (buds pink) in early 

 spring, loosely paniculate; corolla-tube hairy within at 

 the base, usually nearly twice as long as calyx. Plains 

 and hills, Wyo., Colo.-^-Offered W., as a choice rock- 

 plant, thriving in any light soil. 



11. primuloides, Clarke. Dwarf, the st. about 3-6 

 in. long and very leafy below, hairy: Ivs. small, ellip- 

 tic or lanceolate, the lower ones very short-petioled : 

 fls. about J^in. across, indigo-blue passing into white 

 and yellow, on very short pedicels in few-fld. dense short 

 racemes, the corolla-tube twice longer than calyx, the 

 throat bearing distinct scales. High Himalayas. Gn. 

 69, p. 319. F.S.R. 1:246. Var. chitralensis, Hort., has 

 larger and more deeply colored fls. N. W. India. 



12. echioides, Benth. St. 12 in. more or less: plant 

 soft-hairy : Ivs. oblong to spatulate, the lower ones long- 



