Mertensia maritima is a species of flowering plant in the borage family, and is known by the common names oyster leaf in North America, oyster plant in the British Isles, and sea bluebells.
It is restricted to gravelly sea shores, usually within reach of the highest winter tides in the Northern Hemisphere, reaching north to the northern parts of Canada, Greenland and Svalbard.
It is a perennial herb producing a stem approaching 50 centimeters in maximum length. The inflorescence forms a cluster of flowers which are first reddish, and later bright blue.
Descriptionedit
Mertensia maritima is known as the oyster leaf or oyster plant because it gives off a faint smell of mushrooms and when eaten it tastes vaguely of oysters.[1] The chemical that gives this plant the oyster-like odour when its leaves are crushed is dimethyl sulphide, a compound that is noted for being a major part of the odour profile of raw oysters. .[2] It is native to Britain and Northern Europe; however, populations in the British Isles are decreasing. There are two other varieties that exist:
M. maritima var. tenella is found in Canada and Spitzbergen
M. maritima var. asiatica is found in Alaska and Northeastern Asia[1]
This plant grows on sand or shingle beaches where the ground can be siliceous or calcareous, and contains humus from decaying seaweed.[3] It mainly grows in a sub-Arctic climate and is exposed to very cold temperatures, waves that crash on the shore and strong winds.[4] Since the plant grows in a cold climate, the seeds remain dormant.[clarification needed] Skarpaas and Stabbetorp[citation needed] noted that a cold period (about 2 °C (36 °F)) was needed to break this dormancy.[5]
Referencesedit
^ abDelort E, Jaquier A, Chapuis C, Rubin M, Starkenmann C (November 2012). "Volatile composition of oyster leaf (Mertensia maritima (L.) Gray)". Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 60 (47): 11681–90. doi:10.1021/jf303395q. PMID 23140514.
^Wood W (November 2023). "Dimethyl Sulphide: The Oyster-like Odourant of Mertensia maritima)". Biosystematics and Ecology. 2: 7–8_ _. doi:10.1553/biosystecol.2.e113169. PMID 23140514.
^Scott GA (1963). "Mertensia Maritima (L.) S. F. Gray". Journal of Ecology. 51 (3): 733–742. doi:10.2307/2257760. ISSN 0022-0477. JSTOR 2257760.
mertensia, maritima, species, flowering, plant, borage, family, known, common, names, oyster, leaf, north, america, oyster, plant, british, isles, bluebells, scientific, classification, kingdom, plantae, clade, tracheophytes, clade, angiosperms, clade, eudicot. Mertensia maritima is a species of flowering plant in the borage family and is known by the common names oyster leaf in North America oyster plant in the British Isles and sea bluebells Mertensia maritima Scientific classification Kingdom Plantae Clade Tracheophytes Clade Angiosperms Clade Eudicots Clade Asterids Order Boraginales Family Boraginaceae Genus Mertensia Species M maritima Binomial name Mertensia maritima L Gray It is restricted to gravelly sea shores usually within reach of the highest winter tides in the Northern Hemisphere reaching north to the northern parts of Canada Greenland and Svalbard It is a perennial herb producing a stem approaching 50 centimeters in maximum length The inflorescence forms a cluster of flowers which are first reddish and later bright blue Description editMertensia maritima is known as the oyster leaf or oyster plant because it gives off a faint smell of mushrooms and when eaten it tastes vaguely of oysters 1 The chemical that gives this plant the oyster like odour when its leaves are crushed is dimethyl sulphide a compound that is noted for being a major part of the odour profile of raw oysters 2 It is native to Britain and Northern Europe however populations in the British Isles are decreasing There are two other varieties that exist M maritima var tenella is found in Canada and Spitzbergen M maritima var asiatica is found in Alaska and Northeastern Asia 1 This plant grows on sand or shingle beaches where the ground can be siliceous or calcareous and contains humus from decaying seaweed 3 It mainly grows in a sub Arctic climate and is exposed to very cold temperatures waves that crash on the shore and strong winds 4 Since the plant grows in a cold climate the seeds remain dormant clarification needed Skarpaas and Stabbetorp citation needed noted that a cold period about 2 C 36 F was needed to break this dormancy 5 References edit a b Delort E Jaquier A Chapuis C Rubin M Starkenmann C November 2012 Volatile composition of oyster leaf Mertensia maritima L Gray Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 60 47 11681 90 doi 10 1021 jf303395q PMID 23140514 Wood W November 2023 Dimethyl Sulphide The Oyster like Odourant of Mertensia maritima Biosystematics and Ecology 2 7 8 doi 10 1553 biosystecol 2 e113169 PMID 23140514 Scott GA 1963 Mertensia Maritima L S F Gray Journal of Ecology 51 3 733 742 doi 10 2307 2257760 ISSN 0022 0477 JSTOR 2257760 Alton S FitzGerald R April 2009 644 Mertensia Maritima Curtis s Botanical Magazine 26 1 2 96 110 doi 10 1111 j 1467 8748 2009 01640 x Park HY Kim DH Saini RK Gopal J Keum YS Sivanesan I April 2019 Micropropagation and Quantification of Bioactive Compounds in Mertensia maritima L Gray International Journal of Molecular Sciences 20 9 2141 doi 10 3390 ijms20092141 PMC 6540335 PMID 31052234 External links edit nbsp Mertensia maritima growing on a beach nbsp Media related to Mertensia maritima at Wikimedia Commons nbsp Data related to Mertensia maritima at Wikispecies Mertensia maritima Plants for a Future Mertensia maritima in the CalPhotos photo database University of California Berkeley Global distribution nbsp This Boraginoideae article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mertensia maritima amp oldid 1187223682, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
