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Flowers


Yavapai County Native & Naturalized Plants

Mertensia macdougalii - Macdougal's bluebells

Plant Form: Forb or Subshrub

Family: Boraginaceae


   
 
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Leaves
Max Licher @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA)
Plant
Max Licher @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA)
Forb Plant Description

Origin: Native   Life Cycle: Perennial   Similar Species: Mertensia franciscana, M. macdougalli, Myosotis scorpioides,
General Desc: Stems light green or reddish in color, not very rigid, when in full bloom flowers tend to hang down; producing elongated clusters of hanging, tubular flowers, white or pale pink at base, blue at tips (pink or purple when in bud). Known only from Arizona.
Identification notes: Plants lacking hairs; leaf blades to 2-3/4 inches long, alternate, stalked on lower stems, not stalked upper stems; sepals separate to nearly their base; flowers primarily blue, often paired, petals fused except for small lobes at their tips.
Height: 4 to 12 inches


Habitat

Habitat Description: Pine forests, woodlands, canyon sides.
Plant Communities: Pinyon Juniper Woodland, Montane Conifer Forest
Elevation: 6000 - 9000 feet


Flower Characteristics

Color: Blue, white, pale pink, purple     Shape: Bell-shaped in elongated clusters     Tubular: Y     Flowering Period: Mar - Jun
Description: Numerous flowers in clusters; sepals 5-lobed, divided nearly to base; petals narrow, smooth, rounded at tips; united into a tube 2x length of sepals; ovary 4-lobed, separating into 4 nutlets; long white stamen projects beyond petal tips.


Leaf and Stem Characteristics

Leaf Color: Light grayish-green, reddish     Leaf Type: Simple     Leaf Shape: Narrow     Leaf Margin: Smooth     Leaf Attachment: Basal and alternate     Leaves Clasp: N
Hairs: No     Spines: N
Leaf Description: Stems light green or reddish, not rigid; leaves basal, alternate on stems, hairless, ovate (round at base, pointed at tip), 3/4 to 2-3/4 inches long, 1 inch wide, margins smooth; basal and lower blades short-stalked, upper leaves stalkless.


Fruit and Seed Characteristics

Fruit Type: Nutlet
Fruit Notes: 4 nutlets with a distinct, reflexed margin (bent sharply backwards).


  Arizona Cooperative Extension
Yavapai County
840 Rodeo Dr #C
Prescott, AZ 86305
(928) 445-6590
Version 8.0  
http://cales.arizona.edu/yavapaiplants/SpeciesDetailForb.php  
Last Updated: Dec 13, 2022
Content Questions/Comments: Email Matt Halldorson  
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