106 
PLANTS OF YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK 
corolla. The slender stems are 3 to 6 inches long and somewhat 
creeping or spreading. 
Cryptanthe flexuosa is a slender, hairy plant with alternate, entire 
leaves and small, white flowers. The stems are 6 to 12 inches long, 
and the leaves are nar¬ 
rowly oblong. Both stems 
and leaves are pale green. 
Cryptanthe watsonii is 
similar but is dark green 
and the flowers are very 
small. 
Cryptanthe ambigua , C. 
colycosa , C. crassisepala , 
and C. leiocarpa have also 
been reported as occurring 
in the park. 
Photograph Bluebells (Mertensia ).— 
Easily recognized by the 
Figure 83. —Mountain bluebells. Blue. 
by Dr. Frank R. Oastler. 
bell-shaped, blue flowers. The five species in the park may be dis¬ 
tinguished in the following manner: 
Av 
1. Leaves hairy on both sides. Mer- 
tensia bakeri. 
1. Leaves somewhat hairy above but 
smooth below. 2. 
1. Leaves smooth or nearly so on both 
sides. 3. 
2. Plants less than 7 inches high. Mer- 
tensia tweedyi. 
2. Plants more than 7 inches high. Mer- 
tensia coronata. 
3. Plants about a foot high or less. 
Corolla-tube about twice as long as 
the calyx. Mertemia foliosa. 
3. Plants usually more than a foot high. 
Corolla-tube more than twice as 
long as the calyx. Mountain blue¬ 
bells ( Mertensia ciliata). 
Alpine forget-me-not ( Myosotis al- 
pestris).— This plant is usually 
found at rather high altitudes. It 
is a green, soft-hairy perennial 
with slender, clustered, nearly erect 
stems which are usually 4 to 6 inches high. The leaves vary from 
linear to lance-shaped and are rather small. The small, blue flowers 
are densely clustered. The corolla is wheel-shaped and blue but with 
a yellowish center. Occasionally, plants with white flowers are found. 
Figure 83a.—Mountain bluebells. Blue. 
Photograph by Joseph S. Dixon, Na¬ 
tional Park Service. 
