General:
Perennial herb from a thick, fleshy root; stems erect to decumbent, 1 or more usually several, simple, usually tufted, glabrous, 10-35 cm tall.
Leaves:
Stem leaves opposite, egg-shaped to broadly elliptic, 7-9 pairs, 1-3 cm long, 9-14 mm wide.
Flowers:
Inflorescence a solitary (sometimes 3), terminal, usually unstalked flower set in the upper pair of leaves; corollas blue or bluish, 2-4 cm long, narrowly funnel-shaped, the lobes egg-shaped, spreading, the plaits between the lobes cleft and unevenly-toothed; calyx tubes 3-9 mm long with 5 flaring, unequal lobes 4-6 mm long; stamens shorter than the corolla tubes; anthers 2.5-4 mm long.
Fruits:
Capsules, 1-chambered; seeds elliptic, flattened, without winged margins, finely veined.
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
Flower Colour:
Blue
Blooming Period:
Mid Spring
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Black
Present from Summer to Fall
Source: The USDA
Site Information |
Value / Class |
||
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
Elevation
(metres) |
2191 | 1915 | 2562 |
Slope
Gradient (%) |
40 | 0 | 100 |
Aspect (degrees) |
32 | 0 | 340 |
Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
3 | 1 | 6 |
Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
C | ||
#
of field plots species was recorded in: |
30 | ||
Modal
BEC Zone Class |
AT | ||
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
AT(29), ESSF(1) | ||
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Gentiana calycosa var. asepala (Maguire) C.L. Hitchc.
Gentiana calycosa var. obtusiloba (Rydb.) C.L. Hitchc.
Gentiana calycosa var. xantha A. Nels.
Pneumonanthe calycosa (Griseb.) Greene
Pneumonanthe parryi (Engelm.) Greene