greater fringed gentian

not listed

N4 - Apparently Secure

SNR - Unranked

not listed

OBL - Obligate wetland

OBL - Obligate wetland

FACW - Facultative wetland

Greater fringed gentian is a 12″ to 32″ tall, erect, annual or biennial forb that rises on a single stem from a taproot.

The stems are erect, hairless, leafy, and often branched above the middle.

The leaves are opposite, lance egg-shaped to lance-shaped, stalkless, 1¼″ to 2⅜″ long, and ⅜″ to ¾″ wide. They taper to a point at the tip and are rounded or slightly heart-shaped at the base. The upper and lower surfaces are hairless. The margins are untoothed.

The inflorescence is a solitary flower on a 2″ to 8″ long stalk at the end of the stem and each of the branches.

The flowers are narrowly bell-shaped, erect, 1¼″ to 2¼″ high, and and 1½″ to 2″ wide. There are 4 light green sepals fused together from the base to about half of their length into a ¾″ to 1½″ long tube, then separated into 2 long and 2 short lobes. The lobes are erect, pointed, and hairless or nearly hairless. There are 4 bright blue petals fused from the base for three-quarters of their length into a tube then separated at the tip into 4 widely spreading lobes. There are no pleats between the petals. The lobes are egg-shaped, rounded, and deeply fringed around their entire margin except near the base. The flowers open on sunny days and remain closed on cloudy days.

The fruit is a spindle-shaped, 1-chambered capsule containing many seeds.

12″ to 32″

Bright blue

Lesser fringed gentian (Gentianopsis virgata ssp. virgata) is a smaller plant, no more than 20″ tall. The leaves are linear. The petal margins are shallowly fringed near the throat and are toothed only near the tip.

Moist. Wet meadows, low woods, streambanks.

August to October

Sources

2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 24, 28, 29, 30.

Native

Inflorescence

Flower

Location: Pennington County