Names and Myths

Mertensia named for Frank K. Merten Botany Proffesor at Bremen University Germany

virginica of Virginia

Natural history / Folklore

First sent back to Europe by a young clergyman, John Banister, who found the plants of the new world so strange that he feared his descriptions would not be believed. He waas mistaken for game and shot while botanizing.⁵⁴

Description

April – May Flowers light to dark blue, often colonial. Stream banks, low moist woods.