mertensia

[ mer-ten-see-uh, -shee-uh, -shuh ]

/ mərˈtɛn si ə, -ʃi ə, -ʃə /

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noun

any of various plants belonging to the genus Mertensia, of the borage family, including the lungworts and the Virginia cowslip.

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Origin of mertensia

<New Latin (1797), after Franz Karl Mertens (died 1831), German botanist; see -ia

The blue mertensia crowds moist places with a thicket of stalks three feet high.
Your National Parks|Enos A. Mills
About the middle of the month the Virginian Cowslip (Mertensia virginica) begins to turn yellow before dying down.
Wood and Garden|Gertrude Jekyll
Occasionally one took a mouthful of grass or a bite of blue mertensia.
The Grizzly|Enos A. Mills
I have found primroses, phlox, and mertensia on the summit of Long's Peak.
The Rocky Mountain Wonderland|Enos A. Mills

On the beach at Reykjavik Mertensia maritima is a fairly common plant.
Across Iceland|William Bisiker