Hugel's Gentian is a beautiful deep blue gentian
named after Baron Karl von Hügel, 19th century Austrian naturalist. It
is an annual herb up to 8 cm tall, branched above. Lower leaves are
elliptic to oblong, 2-3 cm long, with cartilaginous margin. Stem leaves
are smaller, fused at base, obovate, tip rounded, slightly mucronate
and recurved, margin cartilaginous. Flowers are blue, 1-1.5 cm across,
congested in cluster at branch ends. Sepal tube is up to 1.2 cm long
some what transparent especially portion below the sinus of sepals,
sepals 3-4 mm long, oblong, blunt. Flowers are 0.8-1.8 cm long, tube
almost twice as long as spreading petals. Throat has several threadlike
objects, inside of tube is whitish. Petals are oblong-obovate, rounded
at tip, plicae, slightly shorter and narrower than lobes, irregularly
split at tip. Capsule is obovoid, slightly exserted with many seeds.
Hugel's Gentian is found in the Himalayas,
Identification credit: Gurcharan Singh
Photographed in Gulmarg & Khillenmarg, Kashmir.
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The flower labeled Hugel's Gentian is ...