Virginia Bluebell
The Virginia Bluebell (Mertensia virginica) is a herbaceous perennial wildflower. These flowers share the first blooms of the season and beckon early pollinators, such as long-tongue bees and hummingbirds.
The Virginia Bluebell (Mertensia virginica) is an early ephemeral that signals the start of spring. The herbaceous wildflower emerges with beautiful flowers that fade from pink to blue across our Appalachian region.
Virginia Bluebells experience a color transition in their buds from pink to blue as the pH of cell sap changes.
Scientific Description: Virginia Bluebells are native herbaceous perennial wildflowers ranging from eastern Canada to the central and eastern United States. They thrive in moist, nutrient-rich soils of floodplain forests and thickets that provide plenty of shade. They are one of the first plants to flower in our region, often emerging in March. The plants grow in compact clumps that can be up to 2 feet tall. When flowering, the pink buds open to reveal blue bell-shaped flowers that bloom for nearly three weeks. The plants then disappear into dormancy near midsummer.
Habitat Value: This spring ephemeral provides nectar for many kinds of pollinators, including bees, butterflies, moths, and hummingbirds. Long-tongues bees use their proboscis to collect nectar from the flower, while short-tongued bees sometimes cut a hole in the flower’s base to feed. You’ll likely see many kinds of visitors: bees, giant bee flies, butterflies, skippers, sphinx moths, and ruby-throated hummingbirds. The plant hosts three moth species. In the early spring, the plant’s large leaves provide cover for small creatures, and white-tailed deer may browse the foliage. Later in the year, seeds are dispersed by ants.
Historically, the plant has been popular in ethnobotany: Cherokee used the plant to treat tuberculosis and whooping cough, and the Haudenosaunee used the roots as an antidote for poison.
The Virginia Bluebell is a stunning perennial, one of the few naturally blue-flowered plants in the world!
