The open plant encyclopedia
Snap a photo or search by any name to see how to care for it, where it comes from, whether it's safe, and a 3D model you can turn.
The plants people record most in your country, and ones that grow there wild.
Filter by what you want to do, shape, origin, country, care and safety.
Mertensia sibirica
Mertensia sibirica, commonly known as Japanese bluebells or Siberian bluebells, is a species of flowering plant belonging to the family Boraginaceae. Originally discovered by Carolus Linnaeus, who named it Pulmonaria sibirica, this plant is found, as its name implies, in Eastern Siberia and northern China. After review of the plant's morphology, its taxonomic position was changed to Mertensia sibirica by botanist and plant collector George Don, who put forth the notion of the change, which was eventually accepted, most likely due to the striking resemblance to the related species in the Americas like Mertensia virginica, or Virginia bluebells.
This rare, relict, hemicryptophyte is endemic to hillside meadows and forests in eastern Siberia and northern China. It grows in isolated locations with a special microclimate of floating warm fogs along the north-western border of its habitat, in the Lower Yenisei. Along the south-eastern border of its habitat, it grows in the forest communities of the Chikoy Range, which is located on the border between the Chita region and Buryatia. This species grows within relict taiga forests, grassy tundras, in meadows, along forest edges, pebble beaches, along streams, and on moist mountains. This peculiar species relates to its high demand for moist substrates.
Beautiful bluebells · Tall fringed bluebells · Rocky Mountain bluebells · Prairie bluebells · Small bluebells · Oysterleaf · Oblongleaf bluebells · Tall bluebells · Virginia bluebells · Bluebells
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Mertensia sibirica by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
