Gentiana andrewsii (Prairie closed gentian)

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Gentiana andrewsii Griseb.

Prairie closed gentian, bottle gentian, closed bottle gentian

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Asteridae	A large class that encompasses asters
Order	Gentianales	Gentians, coffee, gardenias, frangipani, many others
Family	Gentianaceae	About 1600 species of flowering plants from the genus Gentiana, named after the Illyrian king Gentius
Genus	Gentiana	Named after Gentius, King of Illyria, who in the 2nd century B.C. found the roots of the herb yellow gentian or bitterwort to have a healing effect on his malaria-stricken troops
Species	andrewsii	After Henry Charles Andrews (fl. 1794–1830), English botanist, botanical artist, and engraver

About plant names...

Bottle gentian is a North American native plant.

Identification: Plants are 12-24" (30-60 cm) tall. One or more round, hairless stems emerge from the ground, green or purple. Leaves are opposite, sessile, lanceolate to ovate, up to 4½" (11 cm) x 2" (5 cm). They are shiny, and have roughly parallel veins. At the top of the plant, the leaves form a whorl. Flowers are blue-violet (sometimes white, pale blue, or pink), and look like buds on the verge of opening, because they never fully open. Each flower is 1-1½" (2.5-3.8 cm) tall and up to ½" (1.3 cm) in diameter. They are often described as bottle-shaped, and appear from July to October. The fused flowers dry out, becoming a papery wrapper for a one-inch capsule with seeds.

Online References:

Illinois Wildflowers

Minnesota Wildflowers

The New England Wildflower Society’s GoBotany site

The Missouri Botanical Garden

Michiganflora.net

Discover Life

Plants for a Future, a resource and information centre for edible and otherwise useful plants

9/9/2013 · J. Harry Rich Forest, Groton, Massachusetts
≈ 6 × 4" (14 × 11 cm)

9/9/2013 · J. Harry Rich Forest, Groton, Massachusetts
≈ 9 × 6" (22 × 15 cm)

9/14/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts
≈ 5 × 5" (13 × 12 cm) ID is uncertain

9/9/2013 · J. Harry Rich Forest, Groton, Massachusetts
≈ 6 × 6" (14 × 16 cm)

Gentiana andrewsii description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 25 May 2020.

9/14/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts
≈ 9 × 6" (23 × 15 cm) ID is uncertain

9/24/2013 · Squannacook River Wildlife Area, Townsend, Massachusetts
≈ 7 × 6" (18 × 14 cm) ID is uncertain

9/24/2013 · Squannacook River Wildlife Area, Townsend, Massachusetts
≈ 6 × 7" (15 × 17 cm) ID is uncertain

9/9/2013 · J. Harry Rich Forest, Groton, Massachusetts
≈ 6 × 4½" (16 × 11 cm)

9/24/2013 · Squannacook River Wildlife Area, Townsend, Massachusetts
≈ 6 × 5" (15 × 13 cm) ID is uncertain

Range: Zones 3-7:

About this map...