For the Four Corners states, botanists list four possible small Mertensias: M. brevistyla, M. oblongifolia, M. lanceolata, and M. fusiformis.  Unfortunately there is considerable disagreement about the characteristics of these plants or whether all are distinct species. 

     Weber indicates that M. brevistyla and M. fusiformis are almost identical. 

     Intermountain Flora states that M. fusiformis is "hard to separate from M. lanceolata".

     Welsh lists all four species for Utah and makes no comment about the difficulty of separating them from one another.  

     Kartesz indicates that M. fusiformis is the same as M. oblongifolia.

     The length of the corolla tube, the length of the corolla limb, the ratio of these two, the hairiness of the interior of the tube, the length of the style, and the orientation of the hairs on the leaves are the key factors separating the various smaller species of Mertensias. 

      Unfortunately there is not agreement about which species of Mertensia possess short styles, long tubes, hairiness, etc.   For instance, several authors indicate that M. brevistyla has a very short (1-2.5 mm long) style and that the filaments and anthers of this plant are all included within the tube of the corolla; i.e., they do not project beyond the corolla and in fact do not even project onto the limb.   However,  I have in my hand right now a corolla with a 3-4 mm long style that just reaches the limb and this flower has filaments that are attached at the junction of the tube and the limb and thus project out onto the limb (but not beyond it).  No keys indicate such a corolla exists, yet it is very common in southwest Colorado  --  and perhaps elsewhere.  See below for a close-up photograph of the torn open corolla in my hand.

Foothills, montane.  Woodlands, meadows, openings.  Spring, summer.
Cross Mountain Trail, June 12, 2006.
Mesa Verde National Park, May 9, 2007.

Mertensia brevistyla and Mertensia lanceolata (see bottom of page) are very similar in shape and color.  Both grow from 4-16 inches tall and both tend to grow singly or in small scattered patches.  Several characteristics might separate them: although both often have hairy leaves, the hairs of the upper leaf surface of M. brevistyla are all oriented perpendicular to the leaf mid-vein.  The hairs of M. lanceolata are varied in their orientation.  Also, M. brevistyla is found from about 6,000 feet altitude to 10,000 feet; M. lanceolata seems to be found at higher altitudes, often alpine.

"Brevistyla" refers to the style (the yellow/white appendage shown below) which is shorter than the calyx lobes.

In the photograph immediately below you see the floral parts that are essential in distinguishing (or trying to distinguish!) among the various small Mertensias.  At bottom center are the hairs inside the corolla tube; projecting upward from the hidden ovary (which is that bit of green below the hairs) is the style; and attached to the corolla at the junction of the tube and the limb are white filaments that are topped by the yellow-brown anther sacks. 

Foothills, montane.  Woodlands, meadows, openings.  Spring, summer.
Cross Mountain Trail, June 12, 2006.

M. lanceolata, shown below does not occur in Utah or Arizona.  M. brevistyla does not occur in Arizona and is found in just a few north-western counties of New Mexico.  Both plants occur primarily in the mountains of Colorado but M. lanceolata is also found northward in Wyoming, Montana, and the Dakotas.

Mertensia brevistyla was named by Sereno Watson in 1871 from a specimen he collected in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah.

Foothills, montane.  Woodlands, meadows, openings.  Spring, summer.
Cross Mountain Trail, June 12, 2006.

Numerous, short, flattened hairs pointing away from the prominent mid-vein of the leaf are key identifying characteristics for M. brevistyla.

Foothills to alpine.  Woodlands, meadows, openings.  Spring, summer.
Cinnamon Pass, July 26, 2007 and Cross Mountain Trail, June 30, 2010.

Mertensia lanceolata is, in William Weber's words, "a quite variable and complex species separable into alpine and lowland, pubescent and glabrous, broad- and narrow-leaved races, all evidently merging and recombining in puzzling ways."  It is typically 8-14 inches tall

Although Weber indicates that Mertensia lanceolata grows at low altitudes, in the Four Corners area it is usually found at high sub-alpine and alpine altitudes.  It grows singly or in small bouquets, generally in greater numbers than Mertensia brevistyla. It does not grow in the massive numbers that sometimes characterize M. franciscana and often characterize M. ciliata.

"Lanceolata" refers to the leaf shape. Frederic Pursh named this plant Pulmonaria lanceolata in 1814 and Augustin de Candolle renamed it Mertensia lanceolata in 1846.

Foothills to alpine.  Woodlands, meadows, openings.  Spring, summer.
Eureka Gulch, July 18, 2009.

Foothills to alpine.  Woodlands, meadows, openings.  Spring, summer.
Cinnamon Pass, July 26, 2007.

Mertensia  lanceolata alpine flowers often have more intensely blue hues and it is common to find small clumps of plants rather than individual plants.

Range map © John Kartesz,
Floristic Synthesis of North America

State Color Key

Species present in state and native
Species present in state and exotic
Species not present in state

County Color Key

Species present and not rare
Species present and rare
Species extirpated (historic)
Species extinct
Species noxious
Species exotic and present
Native species, but adventive in state
Eradicated
Questionable presence

Range map for Mertensia brevistyla

Range map for Mertensia lanceolata