THE ALPINE FLORA 



Gentianaceae 



Gentiana 



"Eng. : Gentian ; Fr. : Gentiane ; Ger. ; Enzian. 



To the ordinary traveller Gentians are, with the 

 exception of that flannelled farceur the Edelweiss, the 

 typical family of alpines ; being natives of the lower 

 mountain zone they come within the range of all visitors, 

 the most inobservant of whom cannot fail to notice the 

 matchless azure of, for example, acaulis and verna or the 

 stately carriage of lutea. To pass over the annual 

 species, which, despite much decorative charm, are 

 scarcely suited for the rock garden, one may say that the 

 race as a whole are moisture lovers, comparatively in- 

 different to soil, though partial to peat and limestone, sun- 

 worshippers, impatient of disturbance, and easily raised 

 from seeds, though these are very slow to germinate. In 

 addition to the natives of the Alps, species from Siberia 

 and North America are altogether worthy, charming in 

 tint, elegant in form and graceful in carriage. The 

 members of the group purpurea, however, are not easy to 

 preserve. The generic characteristics are : Calyx tubular 

 or campanulate, 4-io-Jobed; corolla funnel-shaped, bell- 

 shaped or salver -shaped, 4-io-lobes; stamens 4-10, 

 inserted on the corolla-tube ; style nil or very short, with 

 2 stigmas persistent on the capsule. 



G. acaulis (PI. LXXVllJ ). This time-honoured 

 species of Linnaeus should not now be recognised in 

 actual nomenclature ; it is composed of four types which 

 are markedly different from one another. All are, of 



