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Gentianaceae
Fringed Gentian
Gentianopsis crinita
Fleeting beauty.
- Family
- Gentianaceae
- Genus
- Gentianopsis
- Native to
- Eastern North America
- Bloom season
- Summer, Fall
- Type
- annual herb
- Height
- 1-3 ft
- Sunlight
- full sun to part shade
- Soil
- moist, calcareous, well-drained
- Water
- moderate
- Hardiness
- 3-8
- Lifespan
- annual
Did you know
- Each of the four petals is intricately fringed along its margins, creating a floral beauty so striking that William Cullen Bryant wrote a famous poem about it in 1829.
- As a strict annual or biennial, fringed gentian requires bare, moist ground to germinate — human disturbance of calcareous soil can actually help it establish.
- The flowers close tightly on overcast days and at night — a behavior called nyctinasty — protecting pollen from rain and cold.
- It is considered a flagship species of Great Lakes alvar habitats and Adirondack mountain meadows, and is increasingly rare due to habitat loss.
- Unlike perennial gentians that can be divided, fringed gentian cannot be transplanted — it must be grown from fresh seed sown directly in calcareous, disturbed ground.
Color meanings
0
purity
1
introspection
2
seeking