Mertensia fusiformis/brevistyla, May 19, 2022
Common & scientific name
Spring bluebells, Mertensia fusiformis/brevistyla
Family
Forget-me-not, Boraginaceae
Location
Difficult Trail, 8,100’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
This charming genus starts small in the spring at lower elevations with Mertensia fusiformis (or M. brevistyla, depending on your botany expert of choice), shows up similarly small in the alpine in early-mid June as M. lanceolata, and goes big (like 6-feet big) in mid-summer as Mertensia ciliata.