107 



THE BLUE GENTIANS. 



During the reign of King Gentius, from many of the larger forms, whose 

 Illyria was devastated by the plague. So corollas quickly fade, 

 great was the mortality among his sub- One of the most attractive and familiar 

 jects, the pious king appointed a season of the Gentians is the fringed or blue 

 of fasting, and prayed that if he shot an Gentian (Gentiana crinita). It is gener- 

 arrow into the air the Almighty would ally found in low grounds, along water 

 direct its descent, guiding it to some herb courses or ditches, and while quite gen- 

 possessed of sufficient virtue to arrest the erally distributed, it is sparing of its fa- 

 course of the disease. The king shot the vors, as the long peduncles that terminate 

 arrow and in falling it cleft the root of a the stems or simple branches, support 

 plant which, when tested, was found to but a single flower. The plant grows to 

 possess the most astonishing curative a height of from one to two feet, and the 

 powers, and did much to lessen the rav- leaves, placed opposite to each other, have 

 ages of the plague. The plant from that rounded or heart-shaped bases attached 

 time on became known as the Gentian, in directly' to the stems, entire edges and 

 honor of the good king, whose supplica- tapering points. The sky-blue flower is 

 tions brought about the divine manifesta- bell-shaped, nearly two inches long and 

 tion of its medicinal properties. with the lobes strongly fringed. This is 



The old herbalists called the Gentian partially enclosed by a calyx, which is 



Baldmoyne, or Feldwode. The first of nearly as long as the corolla, 



these names is supposed to have been de- A much more common form, found 



rived from the Latin valde bona, mean- growing in fields and woodlands, is the 



ing very good. It was regarded as a closed Gentian (Gentiana Andrewsii). The 



specific for poisons and pestilence, and an fanciful name, Cloistered Heart, has been 



excellent remedy for wounds caused by given to the plant because of the story 



mad dogs. The term Feldwode carries that once a fairy queen sought to elude 



the associations of the plant back to the pursuit by secreting herself in the flower 



time of Greek myths and fables. Tellus, of a fringed Gentian. In order that she 



the goddess of the earth, possessed the might be more effectually shielded, the 



power to produce plants potent for en- plant closed the lobes of its corolla and in 



chantments. Hence, when Medea be- gratitude the queen decorated the interior 



sought Tellus to evolve a plant which of the flower with brilliant stripes. It is 



would give the element of renewed youth in order to preserve this fairy painting 



to the mixture in her caldron, the god- that the flowers have remained closed ever 



dess produced the Gentian or Feldewode, since. 



which restored to the aged Aeson the The closed Gentian has leaves with 



freshness and vigor of youth. rough edges and a narrow base. The 



The genus Gentiana includes nearly two flowers are blue or occasionally white, 



hundred species distributed from boreal closed at the mouth, forming an inflated, 



to tropical regions, although the majority club-shaped corolla, with stripes on the 



are found in the north temperate zone. A inside. They are arranged in clusters on 



large number of species are found in the ends of the peduncles or flower stems 



Europe, more than sixty having been re- and are from an inch to an inch and a half 



ported from Russia, and there are nearly in length. Both the fringed and the blue 



one hundred in North America. Several Gentian bloom during the autumn 



very beautiful forms come from the Swiss months and are among the most attractive 



Alps, which rarely attain a height of more forms that mark the close of the floral 



than three or four inches. The deep blue season. 



flowers of these diminutive specimens re- The medicinal properties of the Gen- 

 tain their color for years after being tian are obtained from the root, which, 

 pressed for the herbarium, thus differing after being powdered, yields its remedial 



