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Mertensia virginica
Also called Virginia Bluebell, Roanoke Bells, Virginia Cowslip, Virginia Lungwort, Bluebells, Eastern Bluebells, Tree Lungwort
Virginia bluebells is a spring-flowering perennial native to eastern North America, grown for its nodding sky-blue bell flowers. It goes dormant in summer, so plant it where its emerging foliage is valued and it can fade unseen later.
Mertensia virginica (common names Virginia bluebells, Virginia cowslip, lungwort oysterleaf, Roanoke bells) is a spring ephemeral plant in the Boraginaceae (borage) family with bell-shaped sky-blue flowers, native to eastern North America.
M. virginica is native in the United States from Kansas in the west, to Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia in the south, and to Maine in the northeast. It is native in Canada in Ontario and Quebec. The plant can be found in rich, moist woods and on low, wooded hillsides. They often form large groups.
Virginia bluebells had several uses in traditional Native American medicine, including as a pulmonary aid, tuberculosis treatment, and treatment for whooping cough (Cherokee), root infusion antidote for treating poison, and root decoction to treat venereal issues (Iroquois). Native Americans believed a tonic made from this plant could help heal those who were under-the-weather.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Mertensia virginica by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
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.
