Mertensia lanceolata - photos and description
Saskatchewan's Wildflowers
Small, erect plant with glaucous, fleshy, lanceolate leaves. Basal leaves lanceolate, measured at 7 cm long, 12 mm wide including petiole. Stem leaves sessile, oblong, measured at 3.5 cm long and 1 cm wide. Plants glabrous. Pink flower buds opening to small sky blue flowers last week of April into May. Flowers grow in a few small panicles, flowers measured 13 mm long and 8 mm diameter.
Height listed in Budd's Flora from 15 to 30 (!) cm tall. Plants in above photos were 13 cm and 15 cm tall.
Native to open prairie and hillsides in the extreme south of the province.
Not common, the Saskatchewan Conservation Data Centre has it listed as an S3.
Courtesy of a fellow Saskatchewan gardener, we also grow these in our rock garden, in sun and shade. Highly ornamental, great rock garden plant, flowers in early May for us.
Photos taken April 29th, May 7th, and May 11th on prairie near the Souris River valley, Buffalo Grass Eco Reserve, 200 km SE of our home in Regina, SK.
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