Gentiana tianschanica - Tian-Shan Gentian

Tian-Shan Gentian is a perennial herb, up to 15-35 cm tall, hairless, with stout stringy roots. It is named after the Tien Shan Central Asia mountain range. Flowers are bell-shaped, dark blue or sky blue, 1.25-3.0 cm long, tube much longer than petals, 1-2.5 cm long, petals 2.5-3 mm x 1.75-2.5 mm, ovate-obovate, entire, pointed-tapering, plicae 0.1-0.3 x 0.1-0.20 cm, lanceshaped, tapering. Stamens 5, filaments slender, adnate at half the length of flower. Sepal cup is half the length of the flower, split lobes being unequal, smallest, up to 0.5 cm long, all linear, long-pointed, toothed. Flowers are borne in a loosely clustered, few flowered cyme. Stem is simple, reddish brown, enveloped at base with old leaves. Basal leaves are longer than stem leaves, arranged in rosette-like pattern, 2-10 cm long, 1.0-5.0 cm broad, linear-inverted-lanceshaped or lanceshaped, margin slightly reflexed, entire-scabrulous, pointed, univeined. Stem-leaves are much smaller, 1.75-53 x 03-1.5 cm, lanceshaped-inverted-lanceshaped, entire, purple rimmed, pointed, sheathing at base, sheath 1.0-1.5 cm. Capsule is ellipsoid-lanceshaped. Seeds numerous, brown, netveined. Tian-Shan Gentian is found in the Himalayas and China, at altitudes of 3200-3900 m. Flowering: July-September.