Nearctica - Eastern Wildflowers - Gentianaceae - Fringed Gentian (Gentianopsis crinita)

Fringed Gentian

(Gentianopsis crinita)

Color Photograph: Midwestern wetland flora: Field office guide to plant species. U.S.D.A. Soil Conservation Service, Midwest National Technical Center.

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

Gentianopsis virgata

Fringed Gentian is most likely to be confused with Smaller Fringed Gentian. The leaves of Smaller Fringed Gentian are narrow and elongate, not broad at the base, and the petals have only a short fringe along their outer margins.

Fringed Gentian (Gentianopsis crinita)

Identification: Flowers deep violet, elongate, with 4 petals fused for three-fourths of their length, and with petals free and flaring outward at the the tip. Petals' outer margins with long fringes. Flowers erect, solitary at the tips of the stems. Stem smooth. Leaves broad at the base, narrowing to a pointed tip. Plant 1 to 3 feet in height.

Distribution: Manitoba in the west to Ontario in the east, southward to the northeastern United States, and in the mountains to Georgia.

Habitat: Fringed Gentian is found in meadows and wet woods.

Flowering period: September to November.

Fringed Gentian (Gentianopsis crinita)

Similar Species:

Smaller Fringed Gentian (Gentianopsis virgata)

Similar Species