2. Gentiana andrewsii Griseb. (closed gentian, bottle gentian)
Gentiana clausa Raf., misapplied
Pl. 419 a–c; Map
1872
Stems (20–)30–70
cm long, erect or nearly so, glabrous. Leaves with minutely ciliate margins,
lanceolate to lanceolate-ovate, 2.0–8.5 cm long, sometimes reduced to scales
near stem bases. Calyces 14–25(–29) mm long, the lobes lanceolate to
lanceolate-ovate, usually shorter than the tube. Corollas blue to bluish
violet, closed at maturity, tubular, 2.8–4.0 cm long. Free portion of the
corolla lobes shallowly triangular or reduced to a minute point, erect to
somewhat incurved, 0.5–3.0 mm long, shorter than the finely toothed or fringed
appendages. Anthers partially fused together. 2n=26. August–October.
Scattered nearly
throughout the state (northeastern U.S. west to North Dakota, Nebraska, and
Missouri; Canada). Upland prairies, glades, and openings of mesic upland
forests.
See the
treatment of G. alba for a discussion of the hybrid with that species.
Two varieties of G. andrewsii have been accepted (Pringle, 1967); both
are present in Missouri.