Star Gentian
Swertia perennis
Gentian family (Gentianaceae)
Star Gentian (Swertia perennis is not commonly noticed because it frequently grows among grasses and other tall plants in wetlands, and because its flowers are not vibrant. But Star Gentian is well worth looking for. Its star-shaped flowers are a very unusual and lovely dusky purple with darker purple streaks and tinges of yellow. The plant grows straight on single sturdy stems. When you find one plant, you will almost always find several immediately near, for new plants most often sprout from roots of older plants. The plant is often found in the company of Elephant Heads, King's , Rose , and other plants that like wet roots.
Emanuel Sweert was a 16th century Dutch botanist and "perennis" is Latin for "through the year, ." Swertia perennis is circumboreal and was first collected in Bavaria in the mid-1700s. It was named by Linnaeus in 1753.
©2004 Al Schneider
