GENTIA'NA SEPTEMTIDA. 
SEVEN-CLEFT GENTIAN. 
Class. Order. 
PENTANDRIA. DYGYNIA. 
Natural Order. 
GENTIANACE a;. 
Native of 
Height. 
Flowers in 
Duration 
Introduced 
Persia. 
1 foot. 
July, Aug. 
Perennial. 
in 1804. 
No. 1020. 
Gentius was one of the ancient kings of Illyria 
— a small European state, near to Italy, the bound- 
aries of which cannot now he correctly defined. 
He, like Lysimachus, was an adept in medical as 
well as military tactics. The name, septemfida, 
was originally given to this species in allusion to 
its corolla being sometimes seven-cleft ; which is, 
however, of very rare occurrence. 
It has been thought desirable that the genus 
Gentian should be divided, and several continental 
botanists have tried their skill in effecting this; we 
have in consequence Pneumonanthe, the name of 
the pi’esent species ; also Euratharia, Eiyculia, 
and several others, new to our gardens, which we 
are unwilling to adopt.. It will be seen that our 
plant has not the accessory jagged segments of the 
corolla so prominent as they are sometimes met 
with, still it must be regarded only as a seedling 
variety. The spotting of the corolla arises wholly 
from cultivation, therefore it should not be adopted 
as a mark of even a variety. 
Gentiana septemfida flourishes in peat, in a cool 
situation. 
