Gentians are leafy herbs, commonly with showy, bell- or trumpet-shaped flowers.

Description

Distinguishing Features - Leaves: simple, opposite, linear, clasping. Flowers: white or pale yellow, sometimes purple-streaked, vase-shaped, 5-lobed, with pleats in notches; all these parts attached at base of ovary. Fruit: a capsule.

Habitat

Gentians are widely distributed, from the tropics to the tundras near the Arctic Circle, but are most abundant in the northern hemisphere. The Arctic Gentia occurs in alpine meadows of the Rockies and other high mountain ranges; in bogs and wet meadows.

Notes

Gentians are often cultivated as ornamentals for their beautiful flowers.

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