Gentiana acaulis

Gentiana acaulis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae (unranked): Angiosperms (unranked): Eudicots (unranked): Asterids Order: Gentianales Family: Gentianaceae Genus: Gentiana Species: G. acaulis
Binomial name
Gentiana acaulis L.
Synonyms
Ciminalis acaulis Gentiana kochiana E.P.Perrier & Songeon Gentiana excisa C.Presl

Gentiana acaulis (Stemless gentian)^[1] is a small gentian native to central and southern Europe from Spain east to the Balkans, growing especially in mountainous regions, such as the Alps, Cevennes and the Pyrenees, at heights of 800 to 3,000 m.

An illustration of G. acaulis

It is a perennial plant, growing on acidic soils. Its height is 2 cm and spread is 10 cm or more. The leaves are evergreen, 2-3.5 cm long, in a basal rosette, forming clumps. The trumpet-shaped terminal flowers have a blue colour with olive-green spotted longitudinal throats. They grow on a very short peduncle, 3-6 cm long. The flower stem is often without leaves, or has 1 or 2 pairs of leaves.

It likes full sun, is fully hardy and flowers in late spring and summer.

The closely related Gentiana clusii, often called by the same common name as this species, differs by growing on limy soils. It also has shorter leaves and the flowers have no olive-green stripes.

Gentian on the obverse side of Austrian € 0.01 euro coins.

References