Closed Gentian; Bottle Gentian (Gentiana An- 
clrewsii) is the most abundant of all Gentians. The 
flowers are as peculiar in their way as those of the 
Fringed are in theirs. It is remarkable because the 
five parts of the corolla never spread; the flower re¬ 
mains closed. The flowers are cross-fertilized by the 
common bumblebee. He knows there is a supply of 
nectar at the bottom of each blossom and he has the 
wits and the strength to get at it. Slowly, but surely, 
he is able to force the closed lobes apart until his body 
is half concealed in the “ bottle,” and he is able to 
reach the bottom. As he leaves the flower he is certain 
to scrape off quantifies of pollen on his head and al¬ 
most sure to leave some of it on the receptive stigma 
of the next flower visited. 
The stem is smooth and simple; it grows from 1 to 
2 feet high. The leaves) are rather large, ovate-pointed 
and narrowed into very short clasping stems. The 
flowers grow in terminal clusters, set in the axils of 
the last pairs of leaves. Closed gentian grows in moist 
places, often along brooks, from Me. to Manitoba and 
southwards. 
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