Wild Flowers East of the Rockies 263 

 GENTIAN FAMILY (Gentianaceae). 



A family of beautifully flowered herbs having 

 smooth stems and simple, opposite and sessile leaves. 

 They also agree in having regular, perfect flowers. 



ROSE PINK (Sabatia angularis) is the most wide- 

 ly distributed of the Sabbatias. Whereas the rest 

 of the tribe are confined in a range very close to the 

 seacoast, this species is commonly found in rich 

 ground in all the states from the Mississippi River 

 to the Atlantic. It is found most abundantly in mea- 

 dows or along ditches, but also grows in comparative- 

 ly dry land too. Its period of bloom is during July 

 and August. 



Rose Pink is a handsome plant when in bloom; the 

 stem is square and grooved, branches considerably 

 and rises 2 to 3 feet high. The ovate-lanceolate 

 leaves are stemless and seated oppositely on the stem. 

 The branches usually divide near their ends, each 

 division bearing a beautiful flower about an inch 

 across. At the center of the five-parted, pink corolla 

 is a yellow-green star, a feature that is quite charac- 

 teristic with members of this family. The calyx is 

 composed of five very narrow sepals. 



The roots have very bitter properties that are of 

 use medicinally; because of the diligence with which 

 it is hunted for the sake of these roots, it is yearly 

 growing less abundant. 



SEA PINK (Sabatia stel'laris) is a beautiful, slen- 

 der species common on salt marshes from Me. to 

 Fla. The pink flowers grow singly at the ends of the 

 slender branches. Like that of the last species, 

 the center is yellow-green but is often edged with a 

 deep crimson which adds greatly to the attractive- 

 ness of the blossom. The oval leaves are very 

 small, almost bract-like, at the ends of the branches. 



