Gentiana platypetala
Gentiana austromontana
broad-petal gentian
Appalachian gentian, Blue Ridge or Roan Mountain or Appalachian gentian
1–5, terminal from caudex, erect or nearly so.
1–50, terminal from caudex, erect or nearly so.
cauline, ± evenly spaced;
blade widely ovate to elliptic, 1.5–4 cm × 8–22 mm, apex obtuse.
cauline, ± evenly spaced;
blade lanceolate to ovate or elliptic, 3–12 cm × 10–30 mm, apex acute to acuminate.
solitary flowers or occasionally a terminal pair.
1–15-flowered heads, sometimes with additional flowers at 1–3 nodes or on short branches.
calyx 8–12 mm, tube cleft to base or nearly so into 2 spathaceous segments, lobes elliptic to ovate-lanceolate, 0.5–5 mm, margins not ciliate;
corolla bright blue, campanulate, open, 30–38 mm, lobes widely ovate-triangular, 6–11 mm, free portions of plicae spreading, low-triangular, less than 1 mm, notched at apex, otherwise entire;
anthers distinct.
calyx 8–25 mm, lobes lanceolate to ovate-triangular, narrowly ovate, or occasionally elliptic, 1.5–12 mm, margins ciliate;
corolla violet-blue, usually deeply colored, tubular, completely closed, 30–50 mm, lobes erect, triangular to nearly semicircular, 1.5–3 mm, free portions of plicae ± as long as lobes and ± 2 times as wide, deeply divided into 2 nearly equal, triangular to ± oblong segments, margins minutely erose;
anthers connate.
not winged.
winged.
Gentiana platypetala
Gentiana austromontana
Gentiana platypetala is restricted to sites near the Pacific largely confined to the insular ranges of British Columbia and southern Alaska from northern Vancouver Island, Queen Charlotte Islands, and Alice Arm, British Columbia, northwest to Kodiak Island, Alaska, but occasionally on mainland coastal ranges.
The distinctive spathaceous calyces of this species are strongly suffused with reddish purple.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Because of the relatively late recognition of Gentiana austromontana as a distinct species, specimens of this species have been identified both as G. clausa and as G. decora. Gentiana austromontana is distinguished from G. andrewsii, G. clausa, and G. latidens by the combination of puberulent stems and calyx tubes with free portions of the corolla plicae that are about as long as the lobes and about twice as wide, divided into two more or less triangular segments each similar to a true lobe in size and shape. Because of its puberulence, it has been confused with G. decora, which differs in its more open, generally paler corollas with longer lobes and plicae, and usually narrowly linear calyx lobes.
Both Gentiana austromontana and G. decora occur in the higher elevations of eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina, although G. decora tends to occur in shadier habitats. These species are usually distinctly dissimilar, in each case bearing a greater resemblance to other species than to each other, but populations of plants variously intermediate between the two occur relatively frequently, especially in Greene and Unicoi counties, Tennessee. Plants otherwise typical of G. austromontana but with narrowly open corollas have been found in Mount Jefferson State Natural Area, Ashe County, North Carolina, and may be derived from introgression of genetic material from G. decora. Gentiana austromontana also hybridizes occasionally with G. clausa.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
BC
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
