BLUE GENTIAN.
Gentiana calycosa, Griseb. Gentian Family.
Stems.—Six to twelve inches high. Leaves.—Eighteen lines to less than an inch long. Flowers.—Deep, rich blue. Corolla.—An inch or two long; plaited into folds between the lobes; the sinuses with two long, toothlike appendages; the lobes green-dotted. Stamens.—Five; alternate with the corolla-lobes. Filaments flattened and adnate to the corolla below. Ovary.—One-celled. Style awl-shaped. Stigma two-lobed. Hab.—The Sierras.
This genus was named for Gentius, an ancient king of Illyria, who is said to have discovered the medicinal virtues of these plants. The drug called "gentian," a bitter tonic, is made from the root of a German species—G. lutea—with yellow flowers.
All the Gentians are natives of the cooler portions of the world, inhabiting northern latitudes and mountain heights. We have several fine species, which are found in the Sierras and the northern Coast Ranges.
G. calycosa is a truly beautiful flower, rivaling the sky with its deep blue blossoms, which are to be found in the fall in many an alpine meadow, called by Mr. Muir "gentian-meadows."