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Swamp gentian • Gentiana douglasiana
{douglasiana = after the explorer and botanist David Douglas}

Swamp gentian (Gentiana douglasiana)
Photo by Kelly Fretwell
Swamp gentian (Gentiana douglasiana)
Photo by Maria Shallard
Swamp gentian (Gentiana douglasiana)
Photo by Nancy Shackelford
Identification
Swamp gentian is an annual plant that grows 5-25 cm tall from a taproot. The stems grow upright and branch often. There are a few leaves at the base of the plant (basal leaves); they are small (to 1.5 cm long), are egg-shaped or elliptical, and form a rosette around the base. The stem leaves are similar in size and shape, and are also not numerous. This species is easy to identify when in bloom: the distinctive flowers are white with small purple spots and streaks; the undersides of open flowers (and therefore flower buds) are purplish-blue. The flowers are tubular (no separate petals): what look like petals are actually five large lobes separated by smaller lobes. The relatively small (to 1.5 cm long) flowers appear singly or in clusters at the top of a stem.

Habitat & Range
Swamp gentian, as the name suggests, grows in wet areas like bogs, fens, and wet meadows. It will not grow in shady areas, and prefers nitrogen-poor soils. It is found in low and subalpine elevations along the BC coast. Its range stretches north into southeastern Alaska, and south into Washington.

Similar Species
Northern gentian is a similar species with purple flowers, and is not a common species on the coast; it is generally found east of the Cascade Mountains.

iNaturalist
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/163228-Gentiana-douglasiana
​

References
Gentiana douglasiana Bong.  In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Ed.). E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. Accessed 14/08/2013.
Pojar, J. and MacKinnon, A. (1994). Plants of Coastal British Columbia. Vancouver, BC: Lone Pine Publishing. P. 229.

Authors and editors of page
Kelly Fretwell and Brian Starzomski (2013).
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