Virginia Bluebells

Photo of bluebells, or Virginia cowslip, plants with flowers
Scientific Name
Mertensia virginica
Family
Boraginaceae (borages)
Description

One of our most stunning early spring wildflowers, Virginia bluebells is also a popular native plant for gardening.

Virginia bluebells is a fleshy, showy, perennial plant growing to 2 feet tall, often in large groups.

The flowers are many, in loose clusters, terminal, hanging like bells, about 1 inch long. The buds start out pink and turn light blue on opening. Pink-flowering forms, however, are not rare, and a white form exists, too.

Blooms March–June.

The lower leaves are long, tapering into the stems, broad, ovate, to 5 inches long.

The stem leaves are smaller and are elliptical.

All leaves are bluish green. This is the only Missouri member of the borage family that is not hairy.

Similar species: Virginia bluebells is very distinctive.

Other Common Names
Virginia Cowslip
Size

Height: to 2 feet.

Where To Find
image of Bluebells Virginia Cowslip Distribution Map

Scattered statewide, except in the northwestern quarter of Missouri, where it is uncommon or absent.

Occurs in bottomland forests, moist upland forests in ravines, swamps, bases and ledges of bluffs, and banks of streams and rivers.

Because it is so beautiful and easy to transplant, Virginia bluebells has become a target for unethical collectors who sometimes remove entire populations from the wild, leaving only ugly craters under the trees. When you buy native plants from nurseries, make sure they get their stock from cultivated plants, not from the wild.

Native Missouri spring-blooming wildflower. Often used in native wildflower gardening.

This gorgeous spring wildflower is commonly cultivated in shade gardens. If you are thinking of planting this species, please don't take them from the wild. Instead, purchase them from ethical native plant nurseries.

Butterflies are attracted to bluebells, where they gather nectar and pollinate the flowers in the process.

Any animals that might eat the foliage have only a brief opportunity to do so, as the aboveground parts of the plant wither and disappear soon after the fruits mature.

Missouri has several members of the borage family. These plants have a distinctive form for its flower clusters. These uncurl like a coil as new flower buds develop and open. Another example is hoary puccoon, a common bright yellow wildflower. But notice the structural similarity in the flower clusters.

Media Gallery
Photo of bluebells, or Virginia cowslip, plants with flowers
One of our most stunning early spring wildflowers, bluebells is also a popular native plant for gardening.
Photo by MDC Staff, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation
1/7
Backyard Bluebells in South St. Louis County
Backyard Bluebells in South St. Louis County
Submitted by Charles M. Gleason, Jr.
Use of this image is restricted to MDC only
2/7
Blue flowers and pink buds clustered in a group in front of large oval leaves.
Submitted by Michael VanVooren
Use of this image is restricted to MDC only
3/7
Virginia bluebells blooming at Touch the Earth, Moniteau County, in late March 2012
Virginia bluebells blooms March–June. The flower buds are pink and turn light blue on opening.
Julianna Schroeder
Use of this image is restricted to MDC only
4/7
Virginia bluebells blooming at Touch the Earth, Moniteau County, in late March 2012
Virginia bluebells grows in bottomland forests, moist upland forests in ravines, swamps, bases and ledges of bluffs, and banks of streams and rivers.
Julianna Schroeder
Use of this image is restricted to MDC only
5/7
Virginia bluebells blooming at Touch the Earth, Moniteau County, in late March 2012
Sometimes Virginia bluebells are pink bells: pink-flowering forms are not rare, and a white-flowering form exists, too.
Julianna Schroeder
Use of this image is restricted to MDC only
6/7
A cluster of five blue flowers on a stalk. Some pink buds are visible behind the flowers.
Submitted by Charles Beckwith
Use of this image is restricted to MDC only on this page
7/7
Photo of bluebells, or Virginia cowslip, plants with flowers
Backyard Bluebells in South St. Louis County
Blue flowers and pink buds clustered in a group in front of large oval leaves.
Virginia bluebells blooming at Touch the Earth, Moniteau County, in late March 2012
Virginia bluebells blooming at Touch the Earth, Moniteau County, in late March 2012
Virginia bluebells blooming at Touch the Earth, Moniteau County, in late March 2012
A cluster of five blue flowers on a stalk. Some pink buds are visible behind the flowers.
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