Bluebells (Mertensia species) are a very common plant, and they are edible. I'm usually not very impressed with their flavor, but accounts of successfully enjoying them say the young shoots and tips should be used for best results. Since most bluebells are shrub-sized, although not woody, it is long past the shoot stage when the flowers come out and makes them simple to identify.
Mertensia brevistyla
However the species of bluebells pictured here neatly sidesteps that problem. Short-styled Bluebells or Mertensia brevistyla is endemic to (only occurs in) Utah and Colorado, and is a spring ephemeral, which means it is a small plant which grows early in the spring before most other plants get started, but only for a short time, and then dies off as everything else outgrows it. This means that the entire plant is nothing other than a young shoot, six inches high or less, and the flowers grow immediately to give away its identity. The appearance is a bit different than you might expect if you are familiar with the more common bluebells species, since they are quite small, and the flowers are shorter and do not hang down. They are a bit of an outlier in the genus, but still definitely a bluebell. Just like other bluebells, the flowers start out pink when young, and have the same blue color when mature. But because they more open (instead of cylindrical) than other bluebells, you can see the light-colored center of the flower, which is common in the Boraginaceae (Borage) family.
They are fairly abundant in their limited area and time of growth, but remember to practice good foraging etiquette and only take a few of the ones you find. You will get enough if you walk and bushwhack around the area. You can just break off the upper portion, which will leave the root and give it a good chance to grow again next year.
Like other bluebells, the raw leaves have a distinctive flavor, which some people describe as "fishy". This may not be entirely accurate, but it is probably as close a description as you can get with actually tasting it yourself. It is not a particularly strong or unpleasant taste, though, and these leaves are never bitter, like the older leaves on larger plants can get. Cooking removes that flavor from the leaves, and softens any fibers in the stems. So the cooked leaves together with the stems is a mild and very nice tasting green. I boiled them for three minutes, which is my standard time for most greens, but they may not need even that long. The flowers do not survive the cooking process. They looked like they turned clear in the simmering water, and washed away through the sieve when draining the water off. Some of my plants still had flowers in bud stage, and those cooked up fine, just like the leaves and stem. The raw flowers could be used as a pretty addition to a salad or as a garnish.
All of the Mertensia species are edible, with varying degrees of good taste. This is one of the better tasting species, especially when cooked. However, not everything called "Bluebells" is edible. The Hyacinthoides genus in the Lily family is also known by the common name Bluebells, but they are definitely not edible. They hang down like most bluebells, and some of the species are blue, but they have six petals instead of five, and they are never found in Utah unless cultivated. The Wahlenbergia genus grows mostly in Australia and is known as Bluebells there. There is one species which grows in North America, mainly in the southeast, but it is called Rockbell there. Campanula species are sometimes called Bluebells, but more properly called Harebells or Bellflowers. Harebells are edible. This is case where you have to fear the synonyms instead of the look-alikes.
