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Western Wetland Flora

Field Office Guide to Plant Species

Rainier Pleated Gentian
Gentiana calycosa Griseb.

JPG -- Species Photo JPG -- Distribution Map

Family: Gentian (Gentianaceae)
Flowering: July-September
Field Marks: The distinguishing features of this gentian are its perennial habit, its tube of the sepals 1/4-1/2 inch long, and its blue petals with tiny yellow dots over the surface.
Habitat: Wet meadows, along streams, mostly in the mountains.
Habit: Perennial herb with a thick rootstock.
Stems: Upright, unbranched, up to 12 inches tall, smooth.
Leaves: Opposite, simple, ovate to suborbicular, up to 2 inches long, pointed or rounded at the tip, rounded at the base, smooth, without teeth.
Flowers: Showy, 1-3 in a cluster, subtended by lanceolate to ovate bracts.
Sepals: 5, green, united below to form a tube, the tube 1/4-1/2 inch long, the lobes 1/8-1/3 inch long.
Petals: 5, deep blue, united to form a bell-shaped tube, the tube to 1 1/2 inches long, the lobes 1/3-1/2 inch long, the surface covered with tiny yellow dots.
Stamens: 5, attached to the tube of the petals.
Pistils: Ovary superior, smooth; stigmas 2.
Fruits: Capsules narrowly ellipsoid, 3/4-1 inch long, with a stalk at the base; seeds numerous, narrowly winged, about 1/10 inch long.

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Page Last Modified: Saturday, 02-Feb-2013 06:27:09 EST
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