GENTIAN FAMILY. Gentianaceae. 



This has a slender, leafy stem, from a 

 TaD Centaury few i nc h es to over a f oot ta U f an( j flowers 



cxaitatl \E. not s lar ^ e as the last > but P rett y and gay, 



Douglasii) about half an inch across, bright pink with 



(Centauriuni) a distinct white "eye." This grows in 



I? ? sandy soil, as far east as Wyoming. 



Spring, summer, j J 



autumn There are many kinds of Gentiana, cf 



West, etc. northern regions and the Andes; calyx 



tubular, usually with five teeth; corolla 

 variously shaped with from four to seven lobes, often 

 fringed, or with folds between the teeth; style short or 

 lacking; stigma two-lipped. 



, A pretty plant, with leafy, often branch- 



Northern Gentian . 



Gentiana acuta m S stems, from six to twenty inches tall, 

 Purple and numerous flowers, with stiff pedicels 



Summer an d leafy bracts, forming several small 



west, etc. clusters along the upper part of the stem. 



They are each about half an inch long, various shades of 

 purple or blue, sometimes white, and easily recognized 

 by the little crown of white fringe in the throat of the 

 rather tubular, five-lobed corolla. These plants have very 

 small roots, so that it is difficult to pick them without 

 pulling them up, and as they are annuals they are easily 

 exterminated. They are common in northern mountains, 

 in moist places across the continent, and in Europe and Asia. 



This has smooth, thin leaves and pretty 

 Gentian 

 Genti^na flowers, three-quarters of an inch long, 



propinqua with lilac or purple corollas, satiny in 



Purple texture, with four lobes, pointed at the 



tips and more or less fringed. This 



grows in high mountains. 



A handsome perennial, with leafy stems, 



Blue Gentian frQm fiye tQ fifteen incheg tall beari one 

 Gentid.na calycosa 



Bl ue or several, fine flowers at the top. They 



Autumn are an inch and a half long, with a bright 



Northwest blue corolla, dotted with green, with 



plaited folds and small teeth between the five lobes. This 

 has been found in Yosemite, but is more common at Lake 

 Tahoe. There are many other handsome large Blue 

 Gentians in the West. G. lutea, with yellow flowers, is the 

 German kind from which the well-known drug, gentian, is 

 made. 



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