Bottle Gentian
| Also known as: | Closed Bottle Gentian, Andrew's Gentian, Prairie Gentian |
|---|---|
| Scientific name: | Gentiana andrewsii |
| Family: | Gentian (Gentianaceae) |
| Life cycle: | perennial |
| Origin: | native |
| Habitat: | sun to part shade; moist fields, thickets, edges of woods |
| Bloom season: | summer, early fall |
| Plant height: | 1 to 2 feet |
| USDA PLANTS database: | Minnesota county distribution map |
| Spotted in Ramsey County at: |
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Detailed Information
- Flower:
![[photo of flowers]](/udata/r9ndp23q/blue/bottle-gentian-100_3789-t.jpg)
Flowers are 1 to 1½ inches long, blue to purplish, tubular with pleats between each of the 5 fused petals. They never open so always look like large blue buds. A cluster of flowers sits at the top of the main stem. Some plants have additional small clusters arising from the leaf axils in the upper part of the plant.
- Leaves and stem:
![[photo of leaves]](/udata/r9ndp23q/blue/bottle-gentian-100_3790-t.jpg)
Leaves are up to 4 inches long and 2 inches wide, tapering to a point at the tip with no leaf stem. There are 3 parallel veins running the length of the leaf. The upper side of the leaf is glossy. Leaves are hairless and toothless, and, unlike most other plants, tend to become larger as they ascend the stem. Attachment is opposite, except at the very top of the plant where there is a whorl of leaves beneath the flower cluster. The main stem is thick and smooth, light green or purplish.
- Notes:
- Bottle Gentian plants tend to lean over as if under too much weight from the flower cluster. The cluster tends to stay erect, though. Bottle Gentian is pollinated almost exclusively by bumble bees because they are one of the few insects strong enough to pry open the closed flowers.
![[photo of flowers]](/udata/r9ndp23q/blue/bottle-gentian-100_3789.jpg)
![[photo of leaves]](/udata/r9ndp23q/blue/bottle-gentian-100_3790.jpg)
More photos
full length of Bottle Gentian plants, about 2 feet tallMore blue wildflowers. Photos taken at Long Lake Regional Park, New Brighton, MN, August 2007
Comments
Have you seen this plant in Ramsey County, or have any other comments about it?
on: 2008-06-18 22:25:52
This grows at Lower Afton Park off of 10 - even in the dog park part.
on: 2008-09-14 10:32:56
I just saw two of these plants while trail riding at Bunker Park Stables. Really unique and beautiful. Love this site!
on: 2008-09-14 14:36:35
I saw this beautiful flower for the first time on 9.13.08 at Bunker Park Stable in Anoka Country while on a trail ride. What an amazing flower!! I had to ride past it twice to be sure to get all of the identifying items to look up when I got home. I am a trail guide for the stable and am always thrilled when I see a "new" wildflower growing in our fields. Throughout the growing season I share my passion for wildflowers with our riders so they hopefully leave with either a new-found appreciation or a rekindled enthusiasm for our hobby!!
on: 2008-09-30 06:31:32
Took a walk through Crow Wing State Park over the past weekend and spotted this flower - had never seen one like it, so after getting home looked it up --- Colors were Blue and Purple ---
on: 2008-06-08 17:01:32
No, I have not seen this plant in Ramsey County, but I saw it last year in Stearns County on one of my walks by the Mississippi River. I thought the plant had blue buds or possibly seed pods on it. Today on my research to find the names of wild flowers I took pictures of at Quarry Park yesterday, I saw your picture of the bottle gentian, and recognized it. Now I can label the picture I took of it last year.