Wild Flowers East of the Rockies 271 



CLOSED GENTIAN; BOTTLE GENTIAN (Genti- 

 ana Andrews! i) is the most abundant of all Gentians. 

 It is handsome but lacks the subtle beauty of the 

 Fringed Gentian, the beauty that leads one to tramp 

 miles in quest of it, and that, in time, is sure to ex- 

 terminate a species. Again, the present species is a 

 perennial and such plants have a tremendous advant- 

 age in the struggle for existence, over those whose 

 roots last but a year and then die. The flowers of 

 the Closed Gentian are as peculiar in their way as 

 those of the Fringed are in theirs. It is remarkable 

 because the five parts of the corolla never spread, 

 the flower remains closed. The flowers are cross- 

 fertilized by the common bumblebee. He knows there 

 is a supply of nectar at the bottom of each blossom 

 and he has the wits and the strength to get at it. Slow- 

 ly, but surely, he is able to force the closed lobes 

 apart until his body is half concealed in the "bottle", 

 and he is able to reach the bottom. As he leaves the 

 flower he is certain to scrap off quantities of pollen 

 on his head and almost sure to leave some of it on 

 the receptive stigma of the next flower visited. 



The stem is smooth and simple; it grows from 1 

 to 2 feet high. The leaves are rather large, ovate- 

 pointed and narrowed into very short clasping stems. 

 The flowers grow in terminal clusters, set in the 

 axils of the last pairs of leaves. They are deep, 

 bright blue at the outer ends and shade to nearly 

 white at the bases. The younger flowers, those that 

 have not matured or had the nectar drained from 

 their bases, are lighter colored than the old flowers. 

 The distinction between the two is very evident to 

 the bees that visit them, for they never make the 

 mistake of entering a blossom that has already been 

 drained. Closed gentian grows in moist places, often 

 along brooks, from Me. to Manitoba and southwards. 



