Fire severity
Tall bluebells is native to North America. It is distributed from Alaska east to Quebec and south to Wisconsin and Oregon. Disjunct populations of tall bluebells occur in Connecticut [1,26,37,70].
Distribution of varieties: Of the tall bluebells varieties, the typical variety is the most widespread. Its distribution is identical to that of the species. Alaska tall bluebells is limited to Alaska, Yukon, and Northwest Territory [37]. Northern bluebells occurs in northwestern Montana, adjacent Idaho, and British Columbia south to Washington and Oregon [30,37]. Eastwood's bluebells is present in Alaska and Northwest Territory [1,37]. Plants Database provides a distributional map of tall bluebells and its varieties.
Fire adaptations: Postfire regeneration for tall bluebells is mostly vegetative. Tall bluebells sprouts from surface or buried vegetative parts [72]. Buried rhizomes are most likely to sprout. Tall bluebells may also regenerate from off-site seed sources after fire. Neither seed dispersal nor seedling establishment is documented for tall bluebells, with or without fire. Further research is needed on tall bluebells's fire ecology.
FIRE REGIMES: The white-black spruce boreal forest ecosystems where tall bluebells most commonly occurs are susceptible to frequent (35-200 years), stand-replacing fires because of the accumulation of large amounts of highly flammable organic matter. Tall bluebells is also common in quaking aspen-dominated boreal forest ecosystems that are characteristic of a mixed-severity fire regime [20].
The following table provides fire return intervals for plant communities and ecosystems where tall bluebells is important. For further information, see the FEIS review of the dominant species listed below.
Community or Ecosystem Dominant Species Fire Return Interval Range (years) grand fir Abies grandis 35-200 [3] birch Betula spp. 80-230 [65] tamarack Larix laricina 35-200 [53] Great Lakes spruce-fir Picea-Abies spp. 35 to >200 [20] Engelmann spruce-subalpine fir Picea engelmannii-Abies lasiocarpa 35 to >200 [3] black spruce P. mariana 35-200 conifer bog* P. mariana-Larix laricina 35-200 [20] jack pine Pinus banksiana <35 to 200 [14,20] Rocky Mountain lodgepole pine* P. contorta var. latifolia 25-340 [6,7,66] Sierra lodgepole pine* P. contorta var. murrayana 35-200 western white pine* P. monticola 50-200 [3] aspen-birch Populus tremuloides-Betula 35-200 [20,71] quaking aspen (west of the Great Plains) P. tremuloides 7-120 [3,27,49] Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir* Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca 25-100 [3,4,5] coastal Douglas-fir* P. menziesii var. menziesii 40-240 [3,51,58] western redcedar-western hemlock Thuja plicata-Tsuga heterophylla >200 [3] *fire return interval varies widely; trends in variation are noted in the species reviewThere is little documentation of tall bluebell use by animals. It is a main component of the snowshoe hare summer diet in Yukon Territory [29], a known grizzly bear food plant in southern Canada and the conterminous 48 United States [16], and an important species for elk in the summer in northern Idaho [45].
Palatability/nutritional value: No information is available on this topic.
Cover value: No information is available on this topic.
balsam fir-cottonwood/prickly rose (Abies balsamea-Populus spp./Rosa acicularis)/tall
bluebells phase of the white spruce-fir (Picea glauca-Abies spp.) community type
prickly rose-red currant/naked miterwort (Ribes triste/Mitella nuda)-tall bluebells phase
of the black spruce (P. mariana) community type
POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY [62]:
Rhizomatous herb, rhizome in soil
Caudex/herbaceous root crown, growing points in soil
Geophyte, growing points deep in soil
Secondary colonizer (on-site or off-site seed sources)
FIRE REGIMES: Find fire regime information for the plant communities in which this species may occur by entering the species name in the FEIS home page under "Find FIRE REGIMES"
Tall bluebells regenerates mostly by vegetative means [29,38]. Morris [50] states that tall bluebells is "clonal, but nonspreading". Tall bluebells reproduces from ramets that typically remain tightly clustered around the parent plant, possibly limiting clonal spreading [18,29]. Hicks and Turkington [29] mention sprouting from rhizomes. Mann and Plug [47] state that excavated tall bluebell individuals were spreading laterally by adventitious roots, and it is on this basis that they inferred its capability to reproduce by sprouting. It is also likely that tall bluebells regenerates from seed. Further research is needed on the regeneration of tall bluebells from seed.
Pollination: Bumble bees are the only documented pollinator of tall bluebells [46,50].
Breeding system: No information is available on this topic.
Seed production: Each flower may produce up to 4 single-seeded nutlets [50].
Seed dispersal: No information is available on this topic.
Seed banking: Soil excavated from a tussock tundra site at Eagle Creek, Alaska, was tested in the laboratory for viable seeds. Tall bluebells was part of the aboveground tundra vegetation but did not germinate in the laboratory [48], suggesting either that it does not have a great capacity for seed banking or that its germination requirements were not met during testing.
Germination: No information is available on this topic.
Seedling establishment/growth: No information is available on this topic.
Vegetative regeneration: Tall bluebells regenerates vegetatively from rhizomes [29].
Tall bluebells is a shade tolerant species [38,44] that occurs in early and late-seral communities. Although generally most common in mid-succession, it has been observed in early successional boreal communities in Alaska and Canada after fire, clearcutting, and logging/burning [15,24,57,59,63]. Mean frequency and cover of tall bluebells was greatest on newly burned white spruce stands in Alaska, and tall bluebells maintained mean frequency and cover throughout all other stages of succession [24].
Tall bluebells is often present in early seral stages and increases in frequency and cover over time. Average percent cover of tall bluebells increased, though not significantly (P=0.516), within a regenerating quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) stand in Alberta 3, 5, 9, and 20 years after clearcutting. Percent cover was 1%, 2%, 1%, and 4%, respectively [63]. On 18- and 19-year-old black spruce plantations, tall bluebells had mean relative frequency of 3%. Twenty years later at the same site, mean relative frequency was 39% [35]. Tall bluebells was not present in the pioneer stage (25 to 35 years) on gravel outwash from the Muldrow Glacier in Alaska. Cover and frequency increased throughout the meadow (100 years after glacial scour), early shrub (150-200 years), and late shrub (200-300 years) stages, with the greatest tall bluebells cover and frequency during the latter. There was no evidence of tall bluebells in climax tundra (5,000-9,000 years) [68]. Tall bluebells percent frequency and cover increased through the 1st 3 stages of succession recorded for the Chena River floodplain near Fairbanks, Alaska, but tall bluebells was not present in later successional and climax communities. Percent frequency and cover for tall bluebells are provided below [69].
Successional stage Percent frequency Percent cover 15-year-old Alaska willow (Salix alaxensis) stand 10 <1 50-year-old balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera) stand 20 1 120-year-old white spruce stand 40 2 220-year-old white spruce-black spruce stand 0 0 climax black spruce/sphagnum (Sphagnum spp.) stand 0 0The scientific name of tall bluebells is Mertensia paniculata (Ait.) G.
Don (Boraginaceae) [11,19,26,30,34,37,41,70]. There are currently 4
recognized varieties of tall bluebells. Throughout this review, varieties will be
identified by their common names.
Mertensia paniculata var. alaskana (Britt.) Williams [1,34], Alaska tall bluebells
Mertensia paniculata var. borealis (Macbr.) Williams [9,30,31,42], northern bluebells
Mertensia paniculata var. eastwoodae (Macbr.) Hultén [34], Eastwood's bluebells
Mertensia paniculata var. paniculata [30,34], tall bluebells (typical variety)
Mertensia paniculata, also known as the tall lungwort, tall bluebells, or northern bluebells, is an herb or dwarf shrub with drooping bright-blue, bell-shaped flowers. It is native to northwestern North America and the Great Lakes.
Mertensia paniculata naturally occurs in the temperate zone of North America, and is known to thrive within the boreal forests.[2] Specifically, the northern bluebell can be found in Canada, including southern British Columbia. Within the United States, the plant can be seen in Alaska, as well as the Olympic Mountains, stretching east through Oregon to Idaho and western Montana.[3] According to the PLANTS database, M. paniculata are also spotted as far east as Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.[4]
Mertensia paniculata thrives in moist wooded or meadow areas. It is a shade-tolerant species and is present in early and late-seral communities. While it is most common in mid-succession, it has been spotted in areas in Alaska and Canada after events such as fire or logging, as an early successional community. The northern bluebell seems to have the ability to grow once more after said events due to sprouting from buried rhizomes or from vegetative parts from the surface.[5] It can also flourish under soil that is mesic,[6] has a low temperature, and has limited nutrient availability.[7] It is a perennial that, according to studies in the Yukon region, is a dominant species with precipitation of 230 mm annually, with an average temperature of −3° Celsius.[8] The months in which the flowers bloom depend on the area in which it originates, but mainly the flowering dates range from May to September.[9]
It is found on the lower Yukon in abundance. It grows around homes and dry sunny areas near homes, in meadows and wherever there is less wind and more sunlight.
Individuals of this species can be considered an herb-forb or a subshrub. It can sprout one to several erect stems with little to no hair at all from one long root. The stem can range from .1 to .7 meters in length. Basal leaves vary between .05 m and .2 m longitudinally and .025 m to .1 m laterally and come in a variety of shapes, including wide, elliptic-lanceolate to ovate-subcordate, eventually tapering to an acute to acuminate point at the apex. The underside of the leaf can be sparsely populated with hairs or completely smooth, and the upper surface can contain short, stiff, and slender bristles or range to completely smooth as well. Leaves are pinnately veined, simple, with petioles ranging from .1-.25 m long, becoming winged traveling up the stem of the plant. Furthermore, the leaves higher on the plant range from .05 to .18 m longitudinally and from .01 to .08 m laterally and are broad, ovate to lanceolate, with acuminate ends. Leaves are arranged in an alternate fashion as it ascends the plant. Flowers are branched on one side, forming a spiral-shaped inflorescence, otherwise known as a scorpioid cyme.[2]
The bisexual flower of M. paniculata has five blue petals making up the corolla, which are commonly pink when young. Sometimes, but rarely, the corolla is white on a mature flower. The shape of the five sepals that form the calyx is linear-lanceolate and cilia are present on the margin of the sepal. The underside of the sepal can range to having either have little to no hairs or having short, stiff hairs close together, with a bristle-like texture. The tube of the northern bluebell is .0045–.007 m long, with the anthers measuring about .0022–.0033 m in length, and the style as long as or surpassing the length of the corolla.[2] The fruit of the tall lungwort are 1 to 4 small, wrinkled, single-seeded nutlets that are .0025–.005 m long, which appear in a cluster.[6] The species also appear to be able to reproduce from a member of a clone that stays clustered around the parent plant.[10] It has been observed that the plants spread laterally by adventitious roots after fire and it has been inferred that the species is capable of reproducing by sprouting.[11]
While the tall bluebell's organs are not edible whole, it has been used in the past as a pot-herb in the north and in areas of Scotland, due to its place in the borage family.[12] It also has been used for medicinal purposes. The dried leaves of the plant could be made into an herbal tea to stimulate the respiratory system.[13]
Mertensia paniculata, also known as the tall lungwort, tall bluebells, or northern bluebells, is an herb or dwarf shrub with drooping bright-blue, bell-shaped flowers. It is native to northwestern North America and the Great Lakes.
