GENTIANA verna.
Spring Gentian.
Class and Order.—Pentandria Digynia.
| Syn. | Gentiana verna. | Eng. Bot. pl. 493. |
| — | Gentiana verna. | Curt. Bot. Mag. pl. 491. |
Root fibrous, creeping—stem procumbent, leafy,—leaves sessile, oval, acute, opposite, clustered near the root—flowers terminal—calyx five cleft, acute—corolla brilliant blue, monopetalous, tube long, limb spreading, divided into five segments, obtuse, undulate, fringed between the segments—stamens five, enclosed in the tube of the corolla—style simple, stigmas two, so closely situated as to give the appearance of a small white circle in the centre of the flower.
This beautiful little plant is well ascertained to be a native of England and Ireland. According to English Botany, p. 49—it was first gathered in Teesdale Forest, Durham, where it is still obtained for the purposes of sale in London, and other places;—it is also a native of the Alps of Switzerland, where we are told the large patches of it produce a brilliant and striking effect:—it is perfectly hardy, but requires a pure air, and succeeds best in bog-soil—from its low growth and general habit, it is well adapted to ornament rock work, and from the shelter there afforded, it will begin to flower as early as March, and continue in beauty some time—it may be increased by parting the roots early in the Autumn:—the Gentiana lutea, is celebrated for its medicinal properties, and is a handsome herbaceous plant; the other desirable species are
| G. crinita. | purpurea. |
| — asclepedia. | septemfida. |
| — saponaria. | acaulis. |
| — alpina. | pneunomanthe. |
Pl. 13.