mertensia

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

/ mərˈtɛn si ə, -ʃi ə, -ʃə /

Save This Word!

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

QUIZZES

Did you ever collect all those state quarters? Put them to good use on this quiz about curious state monikers and the facts around them.

Question 1 of 8

Mississippi’s nickname comes from the magnificent trees that grow there. What is it?

<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