Stiff Gentian

(Gentianella quinquefolia)

 

Color Photograph: © by and courtesy of William S. Justice, Smithsonian Institution

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

 

Stiff Gentian (Gentianella quinquefolia)

Identification: Flowers pale blue to blue, with 5 petals fused into a tubular corolla. Petals without a membrane (pleated) between. Flowers arranged in a terminal cluster and isolated flower clusters (sometimes in groups of 5) arising from the leaf axils. Stem with 4 ridges. Leaves ovate, strongly veined, tapering to an apical point, and the base nearly sessile to the stem. Plant 6 to 30 inches in height.

Distribution: Minnesota in the west to Maine in the east, southward to Georgia and Arkansas.

Habitat: Stiff Gentian is found in rich woods, wet fields, and mountain slopes.

Flowering period: August to October.

Stiff Gentian (Gentianella quinquefolia)

Similar Species:

The 4-ridged stem and the pale blue, tubular (but unpleated) petals should easily identify this species.

 

Similar Species

No Similar Species