Flora of Eastern Washington and Adjacent Idaho

The images shown here were taken of plants in a small isolated group of individuals.  These images appear to represent two somewhat different phenotypes.  The mostly pink flowered individuals represent one form (left two stems in the upper left habit image, upper row center habit image, right side of center row leaves image and right center flower image).  The remaining images represent the second form.  Note that the "pink" form has darker, narrower leaves and the corolla tube is decidedly longer and narrower than that of the "blue" form.  Both the "forms" have the large stature commonly observed in Mertensia paniculata. The the floral characteristics of the "pink" form are closer to M. oblongifolia while the "blue" form has floral features closer to that found in M. ciliata. The "pink" form may represent the taxon referred to as M. umbratilis ( or do these images represent introgression between two or more taxa??? - see discussion in Hitchcock & Cronquist, 1959)