Gentiana. C. GENTIANACE^. 453 



diate folds. — Can. and U. S., rare in N. Eng. A fine plant, with large, showy- 

 flowers. Stem simple, 8 — 15' high, often purple. Leaves 1 — 2' by 2 — 3", 

 thick, entire, sessile, acute. Flowers 2' in length, 2—4 together at top of the 

 stem and a few solitary ones in the axils of the upper leaves. Corolla blue. 

 Calyx segments 6 — 9" long, acute, distant. Aug., Sept. 



fi. rubricmdis. (G. rubricaulis. Schw.) Lvs. ovate-lanceolate ; folds of the 

 cor. more or less cleft. 



2. G. SAPONARiA. Linn, in part. (G. Andrewsii. Griseb.) Soapwort Gen- 

 tian. — Lvs. oval-lanceolate, 3- veined, acute ; fs. in whorled heads, sessile ; 



cor. ventricose, clavate-campanulate, closed at top, 10-cleft, the inner segments 

 plicate and fringed, equaling the exterior. — %. Brit. Am. to Car. A handsome 

 plant, conspicuous in meadows and by brook-sides. Stem 12 — 18' high, sim- 

 ple, erect, smooth, with opposite, smooth leaves, scabrous on the margin, resem- 

 bling those of the common soapwort. Flowers large, bright-blue, erect, 1^ 

 long, subsessile, in bunches at the top of the stem, and often solitary in the 

 upper a.xils. The inflated corollas are so nearly closed at the top as to be 

 easily mistaken for buds ; and the young botanist waits in vain to see them 

 expand. Calyx of 5 ovate segments, shorter than the tube. Sept., Oct. 



3. G. ocHROLEucA. Froel. Ochroleiicous or SIrmo-colored Gentian. 



St. ascending ; lvs. ovate-lanceolate or lanceolate, margins slightly sca- 

 brous ; cymes terminal, aggregated ; cal. 5-cleft, lobes unequal, as long as the 

 tube ; cor. clavate, apex connivent or slightly expanding, lobes ovate, obtuse, 

 the folds entire, acute, short; anth. free. — Can., Western States! to Flor. 

 Stems 1 — U' high, stout. Leaves amplexicaul or sessile, 2 — 4' by J — IJ', 

 acute, or slightly acuminate. Flowers 2' in length, f ' thick. Corolla open at 

 top, ochroleucous or straw-color. Seeds smooth, wingless. Aug., Sept. 



4. G. ANGusTiFOLiA. Michx. (G. purpurea. Walt.) Narrow-leaved Gen- 

 tian. — St. erect, slender, 1-flowered; _/^. pedunculate; lvs. linear-obtuse, 



smooth, the lower ones subcuneate ; car. funnel-form, narrow, open, 5-cleft, 

 twice as long as the calyx, lobes ovate-oblong, obtuse, twice as long as the 

 lacerate folds. — % N. J. to Car., in sandy fields. Stem a foot high. Flower 

 large, sky-blue. Calyx deeply cleft, with linear .segments. 



5. G. auiNQUEFLORA. Five-flowered Gentian. 



St. 4-angled, branching; lvs. ovate-lanceolate, acute, 3-veined ; fls. termi- 

 nal and axillary, about in 5s, pedicellate ; cor. tubular-campanulate, in 5, 

 lanceolate, setaceously acuminate segments ; cal. very short. — (^ Woods and 

 pastures. Stem a foot high, smooth, generally branched. Leaves 3 — 5-veined, 

 half-clasping, acute, .smooth. Flowers small, on pedicels half an inch in 

 length. Corolla pale blue, 4 times as long as the subulate sepals. Sept., Oct. 

 /?. parviflora. Raf. Cal. enlarged, lobes foliaceous, lance-linear, half as long 

 as the smallish corolla. — This variety prevails in Ohio ! la. ! and Ky. 



6. G. LUTEA. (Swertia. Vent.) Yelloiv Gentian. 



St. tall, strict ; lvs. oval and ovate, margin smooth ; cym^s umbellate, 

 dense-flowered, pedunculate, axillary and terminal; cor. yellow, rotate, seg- 

 ments oblong-linear, acuminate, spreading, without folds. — 7|. In alpine and 

 hilly lands, N. Y. and N. J. Eaton. Doubtless not native. It is a handsome 

 plant, often cultivated, both for ornament and for the sake of its powerfully 

 tonic virtues, f ^ 



§ 2. Corolla i-cleft, segments fimbriate. Crossopetalum. 



7. G. CRiNlTA. Froelich. Bine Fringed Gentian. 



St. terete, erect ; lvs. lanceolate, acute ; fls. tetraraerous ; seg. of the cor. 

 cut-ciliate. — 71 The Fringed Gentian is among our most beautiful and interest- 

 ing native plants ; not uncommon in cool, low grounds. Can. to Car. The 

 stem is about If high, round and smooth. The branches are long, and, with a 

 slight curve at base, become perfectly erect and straight, each bearing 2 leaves 

 at the middle, and a single, large, erect flower at the top. Leaves broadest at 

 base, tapering to the apex, 1 — 2' long and 1 as wide. Calyx square, segments 

 acuminate, equaling the tube of the corolla. Cor. of a bright bluish-purple, the 

 segments obovate, finely fringed at the margin, and expanded in th; sunshine, Aug. 



