Gentianella quinquefolia - (image 1 of 6)
Taxonomy
Family: Gentianaceae
Habitat
Open woods and mesic to wet open places. Usually in habitats with limited competition.
Associates
Distribution
Appalachian region from ME to GA, west to western NY and adjacent Ontario (var. quinquefolia).
Morphology
Biennial herb to 80 cm, stem simple or often freely branched; leaves sessile, opposite, lanceolate or lance-ovate, acute or subacuminate, 2-7 cm long; flowers in dense cymes terminating the stem or short axillary branches, on pedicels to 1 cm, or a few lower flowers solitary; calyx tube 1.5-3 mm, the lobes linear to lance-ovate, 1.5-5 mm (var. quinquefolia); corollas 1.5-2.3 cm, tubular-funnelform, blue-purple (white), the lobes 4-7 mm, ovate or lance-ovate, acute or acuminate.
Notes
Flowers August to September
Wetland indicator: FAC
Also known as agueweed, presumably as a treatment for fever. A more western var. occidentalis (A. Gray) Small, with longer calyx tube (2.5-5 mm) and lobes (0.4-1 cm), occurs from OH and southern Ontario to MN, south to KY, AR, and southeastern KS.
References
Gleason, Henry A. and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. Second Ed.
The New York Botanical Garden. Bronx, NY
USDA, NRCS. 2002.
The PLANTS Database, Version 3.5 (http://plants.usda.gov).
National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.
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Michael Hough © 2018 |