Boraginaceae
Tall fringed bluebells
Mertensia ciliata
- Family
- Boraginaceae
- Genus
- Mertensia
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Common names
By language (2)
- English
- Tall fringed bluebells, Chiming bells, Mountain bluebells, Streamside bluebells
- Icelandic
- Kögurblálilja
Synonyms
- Mertensia ciliata var. ciliata
- Mertensia ciliata var. latiloba L.O.Williams
- Mertensia ciliata var. polyphylla A.Nelson
- Mertensia ciliata var. punctata A.Nelson
- Mertensia ciliata var. subpubescens (Rydb.) J.F.Macbr. & Payson
- Mertensia incongruens J.F.Macbr. & Payson
- Mertensia pallida Rydb.
- Mertensia picta Rydb.
- Mertensia platensis (Rydb.) Rydb.
- Mertensia polyphylla Greene
- Mertensia polyphylla var. platensis Rydb.
- Mertensia punctata Greene
- Mertensia subpubescens Rydb.
- Pulmonaria ciliata E.James ex Torr.
Flowers
- In flower
- June to August (from 723 flowering iNaturalist observations worldwide)
- Flower colour
- blue (USDA PLANTS Database)
Characteristics
- Growth habit
- Forb/herb
- Lifespan
- Perennial
- In the US and Canada
- Lower 48 states: native
Photos
FlowerPhoto: Irina Mitine, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
FlowerPhoto: Robert Webster, CC BY-SA 4.0, from iNaturalist 
FlowerPhoto: Cindy Bell, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
FlowerPhoto: Chelsea Welch, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
FlowerPhoto: Eric Knight, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
Photo: Rose Zappa, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
Photo: Ghislain118, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Zach Earl, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
Photo: Meneerke bloem, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Karen Offereins, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist 
Photo: Meneerke bloem, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: brewbooks from near Seattle, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons
More in Mertensia
- OysterleafMertensia maritimaBoraginaceae
- Virginia bluebellsMertensia virginicaBoraginaceae
- Mertensia sibiricaBoraginaceae
- Small bluebellsMertensia longifloraBoraginaceae
- Beautiful bluebellsMertensia bellaBoraginaceae
- Mertensia davuricaBoraginaceae
- Prairie bluebellsMertensia lanceolataBoraginaceae
- Mertensia pterocarpaBoraginaceae
- Aspen bluebellsMertensia arizonicaBoraginaceae
- Shortstyle bluebellsMertensia brevistylaBoraginaceae
- Franciscan bluebellsMertensia franciscanaBoraginaceae
- Macdougal's bluebellsMertensia macdougaliiBoraginaceae
Sources: classification, synonyms from World Flora Online Plant List (2026-06, CC0 1.0); common names, popularity from Wikidata (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0); common names, US characteristics from USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.