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Gentianella rhaetica

Gentianella rhaetica (Gentianaceae) 195 24

 

Usually biennial, up to 35cm tall, sometimes more or less, in height. Biennials produce a rosette in the first year which dies back in winter. Stems erect, usually branched, elongating from a rosette of spathulate leaves which are often withered by flowering time. Flowers 2.5-3.5cm long, bright blue-purple, pink and off-white with five petal lobes, (smaller in annual plants), late summer to autumn. Western and central Europe including southern England, to the Alps and Carpathians, in chalk grassland and scrub. G. germanica typifies a group of similar species found only in the mountains of Europe, i.e. GG . aspera, austriaca, anisodontha, bulgarica, engadinensis, lutescens, ramosa and pilosa; the last mentioned is distinct in having purple or yellow flowers.

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Uploaded on August 16, 2024
Taken on July 13, 2024