\ 



Ko. 41. CfrBNTZANA. S07 



acute, rough in the margin. — Flowers subsessile in a 

 crowded terminal head, of six to twelve, surrounded 

 by an involucrum of four leaves and some lanceolate 

 bracts, often some axillary flowers below the head. Calix 

 with segments longer than the base, linear-lanceolate, 

 unequal, acute. Corolla large two inches long, of a 

 fine azure blue, base short tubular, limb large, plaited, 

 swelled, tubular, open at the top; border ten cleft 5 

 five smaller lobes alternating with the others, but op- 

 posite to the calicinal and stamina, bifid, acute, cili- 

 ate: the five larger lobes rounded, acute, entire. 

 Five Stamina shorter than the corolla, with subulate 

 filaments and sagittate anthers. Germen oblong- 

 lanceolate, comprdfesed, stipitate; style very short, 

 two oblong reflexed stigmas. Capsule oblong, acute 

 at both ends, one celled, two valved, many small 

 seeds inserted on the valves or a longitudinal placenta 

 on each valve. 



Locality — It grows from Carolina to Alabama 



and West Kenlucky, in glades and open plains. 



HISTORY — This species was long considered as 

 a variety of the <?. Saponaria of the Northern States j 

 but distinguished by Walter and Elliott, and named 

 after Catesby, who gave an imperfect figure of it long 

 before. It is one of our best native medical Gentians, 

 but we have many others ; in the Northern States the 

 <7. quinqueflora is the officinal kind. 

 # All the Gentians are beautiful plants, more or less 

 bitter in the roots or leaves. There are many species 

 in the United States, some of which have only lately 



been noticed and many are as yet undescribed. The 



