Downy Gentian

(Gentiana puberulenta)

 

Color Photograph: NRCS Plants Database, U.S. Department of Agriculture

Line Drawing: Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada, Second Edition.

 

Downy Gentian (Gentiana puberulenta)

Identification: Flowers blue-violet to purple, with 5 petals fused into a long corolla and the free portions of the petals flared and pointed at their apex. Flowers generally without flower stalks and grouped in tight, apical clusters. Stem lightly hairy. Leaves elongate, with smooth outer margins. Plant 8 to 20 inches in height.

Distribution: Minnesota and North Dakota in the west to western New York in the east, southward to Tennessee and Louisiana.

Habitat: Downy Gentian is found on sandy soils or in prairies.

Flowering period: September to October.

Downy Gentian (Gentiana puberulenta)

Similar Species:

Other gentian species with clusters of flowers remain closed. The petals of Downy Gentian flare at the top.

Similar Species

No Similar Species