Food, Medicine
Seaside lungwort or oyster plant
Mertensia maritima

Seaside bluebells has a very northerly distribution, entering New England in Maine, where it is common on Atlantic coast beaches. It also rarely occurs in New Hampshire and Massaschusetts. Alaskan Eskimos ate the roots and leaves.

Habitat: Coastal beaches (sea beaches), terrestrial wetlands
New England state, Maine Massachusetts New Hampshire
Flower petal color: blue to purple, pink to red, white
Leaf type: the leaves are simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets)
Leaf arrangement: alternate: there is one leaf per node along the stem
Leaf blade edges: the edge of the leaf blade is entire (has no teeth or lobes)
Flower symmetry: there are two or more ways to evenly divide the flower (the flower is radially symmetrical)
Number of sepals, petals or tepals: there are five petals, sepals, or tepals in the flower
Fusion of sepals and petals: the petals or the sepals are fused into a cup or tube
Stamen number: 5
Fruit type (general): the fruit is dry but does not split open when ripe
Fruit length: 4–5 mm
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Wetland Status: Usually occurs in wetlands, but occasionally in non-wetlands.
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