Swertia perennis L.
alpine bog swertia (felwort)
Gentianaceae (Gentian family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
alpine bog swertia (felwort)
Gentianaceae (Gentian family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Perennial herb from a thick short rhizome; stems solitary, simple, erect, 10-60 cm tall.
Leaves:
Basal leaves egg-shaped to oblong-elliptic, short- to long-stalked, 5-12 cm long; stem leaves opposite, reduced except at the first 2-3 nodes, short-stalked or unstalked.
Flowers:
Inflorescence of terminal and sometimes axillary clusters of 1 to several, long-stalked flowers; corollas bluish-purple to whitish with streaks of green, 10-16 mm long, 5-lobed, the lobes cleft nearly to the base, each lanceolate lobe with a pair of circular fringed depressions at the base; calyces deeply 5-lobed, the lobes lanceolate, just over 1/2 as long as the corollas; stamens 2/3 the length of the corollas; anthers 2.5 mm long.
Fruits:
Capsules, lance-elliptic, compressed, 7-12 mm long; seeds oblong, flattened or angular, irregularly broadly winged, dark-brown, glabrous.
Illustration
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
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Swertia perennis
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
| Site Information |
Value / Class |
||
|
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
| Elevation
(metres) |
680 | 680 | 680 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
50 | 50 | 50 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
360 | 360 | 360 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
4 | 4 | 4 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
D | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
1 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
MH | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
MH(1) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Moist meadows, streambanks, thickets and open forests in the lowland to alpine zones; infrequent in extreme NW BC and along the coast; circumpolar, N to AK and S to CO, NM and CA; Eurasia.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Swertia perennis var. obtusa (Ledeb.) Ledeb. ex Griseb.