GENTIANA 



GENTIANA 



633 



the rootstock is so stoloiiiferous that the plant has to 

 be cut back every year wlien used fur edgings in Eng- 

 lish gardens. In France it is easily grown in a com- 

 post of one-half humus or leaf-soil and oue-hulf good 

 vegetable mold, to which maybe added a little sand. Cor- 

 revon writes; "It can be multi])lied by means of offsets, 

 but it is infinitely better to raise it from seed, and, in 

 doing this, it should not be forgotten that the seeds of 

 this group of Gentians are very tedious, and, more espe- 

 cially, very capricious in germinating. I have sown seeds 

 of G. acaulla, some of which did nofc germinate for 12 

 months, while others (which 1 must say were more re- 

 cently gathered) germinated in a few weeks. The seed- 

 lings should be potted as soon as possible and while 

 they are very young. They will begin to flower in about 

 3 years from the time of sowing, rarely sooner." Except 

 G. Andrewsil, O . Sapovurut. and G. intheynja , and per- 

 haps a few others. Gentians do nitt thrive as well in 

 America as in England. Our seasons are trjo hot an<l 

 dry. Whenever possible, give a damj^ atmosphere. 



It is rash to generalize on (rentian culture, because 

 some plants are tall, others dwarf, some found onm')un- 

 tains, others in lowlands, some in moist soil, others in 

 dry lands, while s^tme like limestone and others cannot 

 endure it. The annual kinds are of interest only to the 

 expert. Alpine jdants in general are unique in rei[uir- 

 ing an extremely large water supply, combined with ex- 

 tremely good drainage. Another ditflcult problem is to 

 keep the plants as cool as they are on the mountains 

 without shading them more than nature does. Gentian 

 seeds are small, and in germination slow and uncertain. 

 They should be sown as soon as gathered, for the thor- 

 ough drying out of small seeds is, as a rule, soon fatal. 

 Gentians are difficult to e.stablish, and dislike division 

 of the root, but are well worth patient years of trial, for 

 they are very permanent when once established. Nature- 

 like alpine gardens are one of the latest and most re- 

 fined departments of gardening, and Gentians are one 

 of the most inviting groups of plants to the skilled 

 amateur. Consult ^ //)/«« Gardens. 



There are several Fringed Gentians, but ours ( G. eri- 

 nita, Fig. 897) is perhaps the most beautiful of ti-entians, 

 and one of the choicest and most delicate of American 

 wild flowers. It has been proposed as our national flower, 

 and, while sought after less than the trailing arbutus, 

 it is in even greater danger of extermination in certain 

 states because it is a biennial, and because it has never 

 been successfully cultivated. Seeds of G. critiitii have 

 long been advertised by one American dealer, but at the 

 Cornell Experiment Station these have never been ger- 

 minated. The Fringed Gentian is, however, firmly rooted 

 in American literature, and from the time of Bryant's 

 ode many tributes in verse have been paid to its unique 

 beauty. The daily unfolding of its squal-e-ridged and 

 twisted buds has been watched in thousands of homes. 

 By the artists its blue is often considered the nearest 

 approach to the color of the sky, but it must be con- 

 fessed that a shade of purple often appears in the older 

 flowers. 



The Gentian enthusiast should hasten to procure a 

 copy of "The Garden " for Aug. 24, 1895, which contains 

 Correvon's fine cultiiral monograph of Gentians trans- 

 lated from R.H. 189:i, p. .')25, and 1894, p. 42. Correvon 

 cultivates his Gentians at Geneva, Switzerland. The 

 writer of the present article has searched (.'orrevon's 

 monograph for facts concerning season of bloom, hab- 

 itat and cultural directions, which are scattered below. 

 Correvon makes 4 cultural groups of Gentians : 



I. Tall Gentians for general culture: species whose 

 roots are more or less stout, which are of relatively easy 

 culture, and therefore suitable for borders, rockwork 

 and landscape gardening. Typical plant, C i»fen,- others 

 are G. affinis, alha, Anilrewsii, asclepiadea. Bigelovii, 

 Bwrseri, Gruciata, dcciimhenx. Fetisoiei,geHdii, Kessel- 

 ringi, macrophylla, OUvleri, Pneumonantlie, Porplujrio, 

 Saponarla, sceptrnm, septemfkla and Walujeiei. 



II. Loiv-groivhirj Gentians: species whose roots being 

 less stout are adapted to rockwork, and for the open 

 ground only when a special compost is provided. In- 

 cludes G. aeaulis and the species into which it is some- 

 times divided. 



III. Tufted Gentians : species with sessile flowers 

 growing little above the level of the ground, and suited 



for the same positions as Cirou]! II. Typical idaiit, G. 

 verna- : others are G. JJavariin , intl>niiilii , Uregana, 

 or}tata, Pijrenaica, £iiid pinnila. 



IV. Jiare Gentians: species which cannot be grown 

 without some special knowledge and practical experi- 

 ence. Typical plant, G. pnrpnrca; others are Cr. r/7/»/», 

 Fralichii, punctala, and presumably all the rest. 



The two most popular Gentians in American cultiva- 

 tion seem to be G. aeaulis and And rrii'sii . These are, 

 perhaps, followed by G. Crueinln, piihrrnhi and tiap,<- 

 naria. The plant which King Gentius km^w is probably 

 G. lutea, the root of which furnishes the Gentian of drug 

 stores. From the same sources comes the liqueur cu- 

 cordial called "Gentiane." 



Index of names : those marked with an asterisk (*) 

 appear in American trade catalogues; t!ir r<-st are cult, 

 abroad. The plants are perennials and nHninlain-loving. 

 unless otherwise stated. 

 ♦aeaulis, fil. *Cniciata, 45. Paniinnica, 4'J, 



adsci'ntli>ris, ?,. Diuarica, 50. *Parryi, 'M. 



affiais, 'J!!. *decumbens, ;j. Pneuainnantln', 'JO. 



"iilba, 7. rfctonso, 16. Porphyrio, 31. 



aljriila. Ill au.l 11. Fortnni, 27. psendn - Puemijn- 



alpinii, .Vi. frigiila, 0, 10. nanthe, 2:i. 



^Audrewsii, 2-. Fro4i<liii, 18. prostrata, 25. 



anijnlofi", iH. (-laniliiii, 43. ♦puben.lla, 41. 



*.'in(.nistifolia,.52aiid geliibi, 11. _ iraaiila, 50. 



;:sl. imbrii-ata,'17. ■''puii'-f:',t;i, tl. 



*;LSclepiadea, 10. incaruata, 8. ♦puri.iiin-.a, 4. 



brrrbatii, It). interin..'dia, S. Pyr(-n:tir;i , 24. 



liavjirica, 40. Kochi;iH:i, 5;j. <iuln'i"rfl'na. 17. 



♦Bigclevii, 30. Karroo, 37. *quiiifiufttt]i;f, 17. 



Bursr-ri, 2. *Uiiearis, 2;i. rubra, 5. 



*ralyc.isa, 3.'.. *lnte:i, 1. *.Sap..iiaria, 21. 



cumpcs^tris, 12. *macropbyl]a, 44. *scabi'a, 26. 



<'arpatica, 4li. Moori-rot'tiini.-i, 13. *si'i-i.lnmi, 34, 



Cr!^'.s7„('/,21ana22. *Newberryi, 3.8. *spiitriiiti(bi, 28, 



cilijita, I,"i, ocbroleuca, 8, scrr;il;i, lli. 



*Cbisii, .'.4. Olivieri, 30. Tlini,wxii,l. 



corditolia, 28, *l (n-Kaaii, 4". trilbira, 33. 



*crmita, 14. c.niata, :)2, vt-riia, 48. 



A. Cnh/j- spathe-lll:r,s]dit in tiro. 

 B. Ci>ior of fls. gritoivixli. 



('. F'inn nf ciridia iriirrl ^s1i,i prd ... 1 . lutea 

 CO. Form of rorothl ,1 iih-siia prd , at 



ieitsi in hud 2. Burseri 



BB. Color of fis. hlnr or pnrpl,', ol 

 least at, ore. 



f\ Corothi ptoifid .'I. decumbena 



('('. Corotlo nut iituil,d. 



II. Antlirrs irruirn luurtltrr 4. purpurea 



i.D. Anthers free -'i. luhra 



Al. rulil.r n-ith u t ului lu r purl iun , a ud 

 usuailil r, Pdus. 

 B. Color of fis. ijriroirisl(, ur grnui' 

 ish udlitr. 

 r. ,St II I e distinet : ruiisiile ]i,d 



sta ll:ed b. punctata 



re. Sti/le none or ri. rif sliorl: eu/wiiile 

 .I'tallced. 



D. Height 2 ft '■ alba 



iiD. Height 9-12 in 8. ochroleuca 



L.i.D. Height 6 in. ur l.ss. 



E. Lobes of cuti/.r tungir Ihuii the 



cu li/x tnjje 9, irigida 



EE. Loln'S of cuhjj: shorter tliun tin- 

 ealijx tube. 



Y. Lrs. laneeolatedineur in. algida 



FF. Lvs. ovatedaneeolate II. gelida 



BB. Color of fls. bine or piirpli'. 

 c. Corolla not plaited. 

 J,. (Jlands found at tlie hose of llie 

 filaments. 



E. Ceihjj- 4-eut 12- campeatris 



EE. Gahjx 5-cut b'b MoorcroStiana 



i)D. Glands not found at the base of 

 the filaments. 

 E. Fringed Gentians: ealgj-4-cut. 

 F. Capsule raised on a distinct 



stalk. 

 (;. Apex of lobes fringed, tlie 



sides less so H. crinita 



isG. Apex of lobes not fringed, 



base fringed b". ciliata 



FF. Capsule on a very short stall-.VJ. serrata 



