Gentian, Autumn

Botanical: Gentiana amarella (LINN.)

Synonyms: Bitterwort. Felwort. Baldmoney.

Part Used: Root.

The Autumn Gentian (Gentiana amarella, Linn.) is not uncommon in calcareous soils and in dry pastures, in most parts of Europe, flowering from July to September. It has an annual root, twisted and yellowish, somewhat thready. The stem is square, erect, bearing several pairs of stalkless, dark green leaves, each with three prominent veins, and clothed from top to bottom with flowers on short stalks in the axils of the leaves, one flower terminating the stem. The calyx is pale, with green ribs, divided half-way down into five lance-shaped, nearly equal segments. The corolla is salver-shaped, blue-purple in colour, the tube quite as long as the calyx, and five-cleft, the lobes being nearly equal; the mouth of the tube is provided with a purple, upright fringe, which conceals the stamens. In sunshine, the lobes of the corolla are spread wide horizontally, forming conspicuous blue stars.