Appearance
General: Herbaceous perennial, with the stems arising singly from a branched, stout rhizome.Leaves: Leaves thin, scabrous above, prominently veined, the basal ones, if present, long-petiolate and cordate; cauline leaves numerous, short-petiolate, the blade broadly lanceolate to broadly ovate, pointed, 3-14 cm. long and 1.5-7 cm. wide, rounded at the base, gradually reduced upward.
Flowers: Inflorescence branched and open; calyx 2-6 mm. long, cleft over half way to the base; corolla blue, 5-lobed, 9-16 mm. long, the limb 1.2 to 1.6 times as long as the tube; tube often with a ring of hairs below the middle within; filaments broad, shorter than the anthers; style longer than the corolla lobes; nutlets attached to the lower half of the style; hairy appendages opposite the corolla lobes at the top of the tube.
Fruits: 4 nutlets.
Distribution
Occurring from the west base of the Cascades Mountains to the coast in Washington; Washington south to Oregon.Habitat
Stream banks and moist, low woods at lower elevations.References:
Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.
http://biology.burke.washington.edu/herbarium/imagecollection.php?Genus=Mertensia&Species=paniculata