BOTTLE GENTIAN 
Gentiana saponaria Linnaeus 
In autumn, long after most of our flowets except goldentods and 
astets have faded, the bottle gentian is found in blossom in the thickets 
bordering woodlands. Unlike its better-known relative, the fringed 
gentian, it isa perennial, and may be sought with some confidence yeat 
after year in the same locality. Its richly colored flowets, of a hue rare 
at any season, ate a delight to the eye when other flowers ate so scatce. 
Blue and purple flowets often have albino forms, and the bottle gen- 
tian is no exception, as plants with pure white corollas are not unusual. 
Bottle gentian ranges from Florida and Louisiana northward to 
Connecticut and Ontario, and closely related species ate even mote 
widely distributed. 
The specimen sketched came from the vicinity of Washington, 
District of Columbia. 
PLATE I61 
