Gentiana

Template:Short description Template:Redirect Template:Automatic taxobox

Gentiana (Template:IPAc-en)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the gentian family (Gentianaceae), the tribe Gentianeae, and the monophyletic subtribe Gentianinae. With over 300 species, it is considered a large genus. Gentians are notable for their mostly large trumpet-shaped flowers, which are often of an intense blue hue.<ref name=RHSAZ>Template:Cite book</ref>

The genus name is a tribute to Gentius, an Illyrian king who may have discovered tonic properties in gentians.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Habitat

File:Gentiana frigida-flowers.jpg

Gentiana frigida

This is a cosmopolitan genus, occurring in alpine habitats in temperate regions of Asia, Europe and the Americas. Some species also occur in northwestern Africa, eastern Australia, and New Zealand. They are annual, biennial, and perennial plants. Some are evergreen, others are not.

Many gentians are difficult to grow outside their wild habitat, but several species are available in cultivation. Gentians are fully hardy and can grow in full sun or partial shade. They grow in well-drained, neutral-to-acid soils rich in humus. They are popular in rock gardens.

Uses

Many beverages are made with gentian root.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Gentiana lutea is used to produce gentian, a distilled beverage produced in the Alps and in the Auvergne.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Some species are harvested for the manufacture of apéritifs, liqueurs, and tonics.

Gentian root is a common beverage flavouring for bitters. The soft drink Moxie contains gentian root.<ref name=huff>Template:Cite web</ref> The French apéritif Suze is made with gentian. Americano apéritifs contain gentian root for bitter flavoring.<ref name=verm>Template:Cite web</ref> It is an ingredient in the Italian liqueur Aperol. It is also used as the main flavor in the German after-dinner digestif called Underberg, and the main ingredient in Angostura bitters and Peychaud's Bitters.

The principal bitter component of gentian root is gentiopicrin (also called gentiopicroside),<ref>PubChem. Gentiopicroside. https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Gentiopicrin</ref> a glycoside. A 2007 paper by a Japanese group identified 23 compounds in fresh gentian root.<ref>The chemical constituents of fresh Gentian Root, Hidehiro Ando, Yasuaki Hirai, Mikio Fujii, Yumiko Hori, Motonori Fukumura, Yujiro Niiho, Yoshijiro Nakajima, Toshiro Shibata, Kazuo Toriizuka, Yoshiteru Ida. Journal of Natural Medicines. July 2007, Volume 61, Issue 3, pp. 269–279. Template:Doi</ref> Gentiopicrin was absent from the fresh root, so it possibly developed during drying and storage of the root.

Gentian has had limited use in perfumery, most notably as a glycerine soap (Crabtree & Evelyn) and a perfume (Corday's Possession, 1937).

The young plant and old leaves of at least one species, Gentiana scabra, are edible when cooked and have historically been used as a famine food when other food sources were scarce.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Pharmacological uses

Great yellow gentian (Gentiana lutea) is used in herbal medicine for digestive problems, fever, hypertension, muscle spasms, parasitic worms, wounds, cancer, sinusitis, and malaria,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> although studies have shown minimal efficacy beyond that of a placebo with regard to the treatment of anxiety and ADHD in children.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="WalachRilling">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Gentian has been shown to manage dyspepsia by eliciting cephalic responses that increase vascular resistance and reduce the workload of the heart during digestion.<ref name="McMullen_2015">Template:Cite journal</ref>

Gentiana punctata leaves and roots have been used in traditional Austrian medicine internally and externally as liqueur or tea for disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, skin, locomotor system, liver, and bile, and for pediatric problems, fever, flu, rheumatism, and gout.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Gentiana purpurea, Gentiana punctata, and Gentiana pannonica are used to produce gentian schnapps, traditionally used as a digestive aid. In Ayurvedic medicine the endangered Indian gentian Gentiana kurroo has been used as a medical herb, but has been replaced with the Himalayan plant Picrorhiza kurroa, or Picrorhiza scrophulariiflora from traditional Chinese medicine.

Symbolism

File:BE DG Belgien COA.svg

Coat of arms of the German-speaking Community of Belgium

File:Sasa Rindo.svg

The emblem of the Minamoto clan

The gentian flower was used as the emblem of the Minamoto clan, one of the four great clans that dominated Japanese politics during the Heian period and went on to establish the first Shogunate in the aftermath of the Genpei War.Template:Citation needed It is the official flower (called Template:Wikt-lang) of the German-speaking community of Belgium.

Species

General

Gentians have oppositely arranged leaves, sometimes in a basal rosette. The trumpet-shaped flowers are usually deep blue or azure but can be white, cream, yellow, or red. Many species are polymorphic concerning flower color, bearing flowers of different colors. Blue-flowered species predominate in the Northern Hemisphere, with red-flowered species dominant in the Andes, where bird pollination is probably more often favored by natural selection. White-flowered species are scattered throughout the range of the genus but dominate in New Zealand. Most flowers are pentamerous, with five lobes in the corolla and five sepals. A few species have four to seven flower parts. The corolla has folds called plicae between the lobes. The style is short or absent. The ovary is mostly sessile and has nectary glands.

List of accepted species

Gentiana olivieri

Gentiana olivieri - Fars province of Iran

The following species are recognised in the genus Gentiana:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Div col

Gentiana acaulis Template:Small – stemless gentian
Gentiana affinis Template:Small – pleated gentian
Gentiana alba Template:Small – pleated gentian
Gentiana albescens Template:Small
Gentiana albicalyx Template:Small
Gentiana algida Template:Small – whitish gentian
Gentiana alii Template:Small
Gentiana alpina Template:Small – alpine gentian
Gentiana alsinoides Template:Small
Gentiana altigena Template:Small
Gentiana altorum Template:Small
Gentiana × ambigua Template:Small
Gentiana amplicrater Template:Small
Gentiana andrewsii Template:Small – closed bottle gentian
Gentiana angustifolia Template:Small
Gentiana anisostemon Template:Small
Gentiana aperta Template:Small
Gentiana apiata Template:Small
Gentiana aquatica Template:Small
Gentiana arenicola Template:Small
Gentiana arethusae Template:Small
Gentiana argentea Template:Small
Gentiana arisanensis Template:Small
Gentiana aristata Template:Small
Gentiana arunii Template:Small
Gentiana asclepiadea Template:Small – willow gentian
Gentiana asterocalyx Template:Small
Gentiana atlantica Template:Small
Gentiana atuntsiensis Template:Small
Gentiana austromontana Template:Small – Appalachian gentian
Gentiana autumnalis Template:Small – pinebarren gentian
Gentiana baeuerlenii Template:Small - N.S.W
Gentiana bambuseti Template:Small
Gentiana bavarica Template:Small – Bavarian gentian
Gentiana beamanii Template:Small
Gentiana bella Template:Small
Gentiana bicentenaria Template:Small
Gentiana bicuspidata Template:Small
Gentiana × billingtonii Template:Small
Gentiana boissieri Template:Small
Gentiana bokorensis Template:Small
Gentiana bolavenensis Template:Small
Gentiana borneensis Template:Small
Gentiana boryi Template:Small
Gentiana brachyphylla Template:Small
Gentiana bredboensis Template:Small - N.S.W
Gentiana brentae Template:Small
Gentiana bryoides Template:Small
Gentiana burseri Template:Small
Gentiana cachemirica Template:Small
Gentiana caelestis Template:Small
Gentiana caeruleogrisea Template:Small
Gentiana caliculata Template:Small
Gentiana calycosa Template:Small – Rainier pleated gentian
Gentiana capitata Template:Small
Gentiana carinata Template:Small
Gentiana carinicostata Template:Small
Gentiana catesbaei Template:Small – Elliott's gentian
Gentiana cephalantha Template:Small
Gentiana cephalodes Template:Small
Gentiana × charpentieri Template:Small
Gentiana chinensis Template:Small
Gentiana choanantha Template:Small
Gentiana chungtienensis Template:Small
Gentiana clarkei Template:Small
Gentiana clausa Template:Small – bottled gentian
Gentiana clusii Template:Small – trumpet gentian
Gentiana confertifolia Template:Small
Gentiana coronata Template:Small
Gentiana crassa Template:Small
Gentiana crassicaulis Template:Small
Gentiana crassula Template:Small
Gentiana crassuloides Template:Small
Gentiana cristata Template:Small
Gentiana cruciata Template:Small – cross gentian
Gentiana cruttwellii Template:Small
Gentiana cuneibarba Template:Small
Gentiana × curtisii Template:Small
Gentiana dahurica Template:Small
Gentiana davidi Template:Small
Gentiana decemfida Template:Small
Gentiana decora Template:Small – showy gentian
Gentiana decumbens Template:Small
Gentiana delavayi Template:Small
Gentiana deltoidea Template:Small
Gentiana dendrologi Template:Small
Gentiana densiflora Template:Small
Gentiana depressa Template:Small
Gentiana × digenea Template:Small
Gentiana divaricata Template:Small
Gentiana diversifolia Template:Small
Gentiana douglasiana Template:Small – swamp gentian
Gentiana dschungarica Template:Small
Gentiana dshimilensis Template:Small
Gentiana duclouxii Template:Small
Gentiana durangensis Template:Small
Gentiana ecaudata Template:Small
Gentiana elmeriana Template:Small
Gentiana elwesii Template:Small
Gentiana emodi Template:Small
Gentiana ettingshausenii Template:Small
Gentiana exigua Template:Small
Gentiana faucipilosa Template:Small
Gentiana fieldiana Template:Small
Gentiana filistyla Template:Small
Gentiana flavomaculata Template:Small
Gentiana flexicaulis Template:Small
Gentiana formosa Template:Small
Gentiana forrestii Template:Small
Gentiana franchetiana Template:Small
Gentiana fremontii Template:Small – moss gentian
Gentiana frigida Template:Small
Gentiana froelichii Template:Small – Karawanken gentian
Gentiana futtereri Template:Small
Gentiana × gaudiniana Template:Small
Gentiana gayi Template:Small
Gentiana gelida Template:Small
Gentiana georgei Template:Small
Gentiana gilvostriata Template:Small
Gentiana glauca Template:Small – pale gentian
Gentiana grandiflora Template:Small
Gentiana × grandilacustris Template:Small
Gentiana grata Template:Small
Gentiana × grisebachiana Template:Small
Gentiana grumii Template:Small
Gentiana gyirongensis Template:Small
Gentiana handeliana Template:Small
Gentiana haraldi-smithii Template:Small
Gentiana harrowiana Template:Small
Gentiana haynaldii Template:Small
Gentiana heleonastes Template:Small
Gentiana helophila Template:Small
Gentiana hesseliana Template:Small
Gentiana hexaphylla Template:Small
Gentiana himalayensis Template:Small
Gentiana hirsuta Template:Small
Gentiana hohoxiliensis Template:Small
Gentiana hooperi Template:Small
Gentiana hsinganica Template:Small
Gentiana hugelii Template:Small
Gentiana huxleyi Template:Small
Gentiana × hybrida Template:Small
Gentiana intricata Template:Small
Gentiana jamesii Template:Small
Gentiana jarmilae Template:Small
Gentiana jingdongensis Template:Small
Gentiana jouyana Template:Small
Gentiana kaohsiungensis Template:Small
Gentiana kauffmanniana Template:Small
Gentiana khammouanensis Template:Small
Gentiana kirilowii Template:Small
Gentiana kurroo Template:Small
Gentiana kurumbae Template:Small
Gentiana lacerulata Template:Small
Gentiana laciniata Template:Small
Gentiana × laengstii Template:Small
Gentiana laevigata Template:Small
Gentiana lagodechiana Template:Small
Gentiana langbianensis Template:Small
Gentiana laotica Template:Small
Gentiana lateriflora Template:Small
Gentiana latidens Template:Small
Gentiana lawrencei Template:Small
Gentiana laxiflora Template:Small
Gentiana leroyana Template:Small
Gentiana leucomelaena Template:Small
Gentiana lhassica Template:Small
Gentiana liangshanensis Template:Small
Gentiana licentii Template:Small
Gentiana ligustica Template:Small
Gentiana linearis Template:Small – narrowleaf gentian
Gentiana lineolata Template:Small
Gentiana linoides Template:Small
Gentiana loerzingii Template:Small
Gentiana longicollis Template:Small
Gentiana loureiroi Template:Small
Gentiana lowryi Template:Small
Gentiana lutea Template:Small
Gentiana lycopodioides Template:Small
Gentiana macgregoryi Template:Small
Gentiana macrophylla Template:Small – bigleaf gentian
Gentiana maeulchanensis Template:Small
Gentiana mairei Template:Small
Gentiana makinoi Template:Small
Gentiana manshurica Template:Small
Gentiana × marcailhouana Template:Small
Gentiana × marceli-jouseaui Template:Small
Gentiana × media Template:Small
Gentiana meiantha Template:Small
Gentiana melandriifolia Template:Small
Gentiana membranulifera Template:Small
Gentiana micans Template:Small
Gentiana micantiformis Template:Small
Gentiana micrantha Template:Small
Gentiana microdonta Template:Small
Gentiana microphyta Template:Small
Gentiana mirandae Template:Small
Gentiana moniliformis Template:Small
Gentiana muscicola Template:Small
Gentiana myrioclada Template:Small
Gentiana namlaensis Template:Small
Gentiana nanobella Template:Small
Gentiana nerterifolia Template:Small
Gentiana newberryi Template:Small – Newberry's gentian
Gentiana nipponica Template:Small
Gentiana nivalis Template:Small – snow gentian
Gentiana nubigena Template:Small
Gentiana nudicaulis Template:Small
Gentiana nyalamensis Template:Small
Gentiana obconica Template:Small
Gentiana occidentalis Template:Small - Pyrenean trumpoet gentian
Gentiana officinalis Template:Small
Gentiana olgae Template:Small
Gentiana oligophylla Template:Small
Gentiana olivieri Template:Small
Gentiana oreocharis Template:Small
Gentiana oreodoxa Template:Small
Gentiana ornata Template:Small
Gentiana ovatiloba Template:Small
Gentiana pachyphylla Template:Small
Gentiana × pallidocyanea Template:Small
Gentiana pannonica Template:Small – brown gentian
Gentiana panthaica Template:Small
Gentiana papillosa Template:Small
Gentiana paradoxa Template:Small
Gentiana parryae Template:Small
Gentiana parryi Template:Small – Parry's gentian
Gentiana parvula Template:Small
Gentiana pedata Template:Small
Gentiana pedicellata Template:Small
Gentiana perpusilla Template:Small
Gentiana phyllocalyx Template:Small
Gentiana piasezkii Template:Small
Gentiana picta Template:Small
Gentiana platypetala Template:Small – broadpetal gentian
Gentiana plurisetosa Template:Small – bristly gentian
Gentiana pneumonanthe Template:Small – marsh gentian
Gentiana praeclara Template:Small
Gentiana praticola Template:Small
Gentiana prattii Template:Small
Gentiana pringlei Template:Small
Gentiana producta Template:Small
Gentiana prolata Template:Small
Gentiana prostrata Template:Small – pygmy gentian
Gentiana pseudosquarrosa Template:Small
Gentiana puberulenta Template:Small – downy gentian
Gentiana pubigera Template:Small
Gentiana pulvinarum Template:Small
Gentiana pumila Template:Small
Gentiana pumilio Template:Small
Gentiana punctata Template:Small – spotted gentian
Gentiana purpurea Template:Small – purple gentian
Gentiana pyrenaica Template:Small
Gentiana qiujiangensis Template:Small
Gentiana quadrifaria Template:Small
Gentiana querceticola Template:Small
Gentiana radiata Template:Small
Gentiana radicans Template:Small
Gentiana ranae Template:Small
Gentiana recurvata Template:Small
Gentiana riparia Template:Small
Gentiana robusta Template:Small
Gentiana rostanii Template:Small
Gentiana rubicunda Template:Small
Gentiana rubricaulis Template:Small – closed gentian
Gentiana sagarmathae Template:Small
Gentiana saginifolia Template:Small
Gentiana saginoides Template:Small
Gentiana saltuum Template:Small
Gentiana saponaria Template:Small – harvestbells gentian
Gentiana sasidharanii Template:Small
Gentiana satsunanensis Template:Small
Gentiana scabra Template:Small
Gentiana scabrida Template:Small
Gentiana sceptrum Template:Small – king's scepter gentian
Gentiana scytophylla Template:Small
Gentiana sedifolia Template:Small
Gentiana septemfida Template:Small – crested gentian
Gentiana setigera Template:Small – Mendocino gentian
Gentiana shaanxiensis Template:Small
Gentiana sierrae Template:Small
Gentiana sikkimensis Template:Small
Gentiana sikokiana Template:Small
Gentiana simulatrix Template:Small
Gentiana sino-ornata Template:Small – showy Chinese gentian
Gentiana siphonantha Template:Small
Gentiana sirensis Template:Small
Gentiana spathacea Template:Small
Gentiana spathulifolia Template:Small
Gentiana spathulisepala Template:Small
Gentiana springateana Template:Small
Gentiana squarrosa Template:Small
Gentiana stellata Template:Small
Gentiana stellulata Template:Small
Gentiana stipitata Template:Small
Gentiana stragulata Template:Small
Gentiana straminea Template:Small
Gentiana suborbisepala Template:Small
Gentiana subpolytrichoides Template:Small
Gentiana subuliformis Template:Small
Gentiana sumatrana Template:Small
Gentiana susamyrensis Template:Small
Gentiana susanneae Template:Small
Gentiana sutchuenensis Template:Small
Gentiana szechenyii Template:Small
Gentiana taiwanialbiflora Template:Small
Gentiana taiwanica Template:Small
Gentiana takushii Template:Small
Gentiana taliensis Template:Small
Gentiana tarokoensis Template:Small
Gentiana tatsienensis Template:Small
Gentiana terglouensis Template:Small – Triglav gentian
Gentiana ternifolia Template:Small
Gentiana tetraphylla Template:Small
Gentiana tetrasepala Template:Small
Gentiana tetrasticha Template:Small
Gentiana thunbergii Template:Small
Gentiana tibetica Template:Small
Gentiana timida Template:Small
Gentiana tongolensis Template:Small
Gentiana tonkinensis Template:Small
Gentiana tornezyana Template:Small
Gentiana trichotoma Template:Small
Gentiana tricolor Template:Small
Gentiana triflora Template:Small
Gentiana tubiflora Template:Small
Gentiana ulmeri Template:Small
Gentiana uniflora Template:Small
Gentiana urnula Template:Small
Gentiana utriculosa Template:Small – bladder gentian
Gentiana vandellioides Template:Small
Gentiana vandewateri Template:Small
Gentiana veitchiorum Template:Small
Gentiana venusta Template:Small
Gentiana verna Template:Small – spring gentian
Gentiana vernayi Template:Small
Gentiana viatrix Template:Small
Gentiana villosa Template:Small – striped gentian
Gentiana vodopjanovae Template:Small
Gentiana waltonii Template:Small
Gentiana walujewii Template:Small
Gentiana wangchukii Template:Small
Gentiana wardii Template:Small
Gentiana wasenensis Template:Small
Gentiana wilsonii Template:Small
Gentiana winchuanensis Template:Small
Gentiana wingecarribiensis Template:Small - N.S.W.
Gentiana woodii Template:Small
Gentiana xanthonannos Template:Small
Gentiana yakushimensis Template:Small
Gentiana yokusai Template:Small
Gentiana yunnanensis Template:Small
Gentiana zekuensis Template:Small
Gentiana zhenxiongensis Template:Small
Gentiana zollingeri Template:Small

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Formerly placed here

<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Expand section

Gentianopsis crinita (fringed gentian), as Gentiana crinita

Cultivation

File:Gentiana paradoxa (1).jpg

Gentiana paradoxa

Several gentian species may be found in cultivation, and are valued for the unusual intensity of their blue flowers. They have a reputation for being difficult to grow. All require similar conditions – moist, rich, free-draining soil with an acid to neutral pH. They include:<ref name=RHSAZ/> Template:Div col

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In addition, the following cultivars, of mixed or uncertain parentage, have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

'Blue Silk'<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
'Shot Silk'<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
'Strathmore'<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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References

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External links

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