Al Schneider's Rocky Mountains Plant Descriptions

Perennial Fringed-gentian
Gentianopsis barbellata
Gentian family (Gentianaceae)

Little Fringed Gentian (Gentianopsis barbellata) is uncommon, low to the ground, and therefore not seen very often. It grows 1-6 inches tall, spreads by underground roots and is found in quite different conditions than its far more visible cousin, Fringed Gentian (Gentianopsis thermalis). Look for G. barbellata in , especially on rocky-grassy slopes.

G. barbellata differs from G. thermalis in being much shorter, growing in drier sites, having very short versus very long , and in having the base of these surrounded very closely by several bractlike leaves. The petals of G. barbellata are broadest at the bottom and taper to a gently rounded tip; the petals of G. thermalis are broadest at the tip. The fringing on the petals of the two plants is quite different and so too is the shade of purple. "Barbellata" is Latin for "small bearded" and refers to the tiny fringing of the petals. This plant was first collected by famed botanist, Charles Parry, on the summit of Colorado's Mount Flora in 1862. Parry's equally famous friend, George Engelmann, named the plant.


©2005 Max Licher, downloaded from SEINet

Description

plants from slender roots. Stems 2-6" tall, to 2" long, thick. Stem leaves 2-6 pairs, to , . Flowers often solitary but sometimes several. Pair of leaf-like close to the flower. to almost 1" long, green to purple. 1-2" long, showy, blue to blue-purple, at very , fringed on the sides. a .

Field Marks

Very short plant with large blue to blue-purple fringed single flower.

© Al Schneider

capsule -- a type of simple, dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. In most cases the capsule splits apart to release seeds.

A peduncle is a common stalk of a cluster of flowers.

meadow -- Large grass and wildflower filled area with few, if any, trees.

The apex is the tip or the furthest point from the attachment.

subalpine -- Just below the timberline.

corolla -- The name for all the petals of a flower taken together.

Bracts are modified leaves associated with a flower.

linear -- Long and very narrow like a blade of grass.

fruit -- any seed-bearing structure in flowering plants. It is formed from the ovary after flowering.

sessile -- attached without a stalk. For example, a leaf that clasps the stalk. A petiolate leaf has a stalk.

basal leaves -- a leaf that grows lowest on the stem of a plant.

calyx -- the sepals of a flower, typically forming a whorl that encloses the petals and forms a protective layer around a flower in bud.

oblong -- Having an elongated form with somewhat parallel sides. Rectangular.

glabrous -- smooth, glossy, having no bristles or hair-like structures. Bald.

dentate -- with sharp, outward-pointing teeth

A perennial plant lives and blooms for many years.