Gentiana prostrata Haenke
moss gentian (pygmy gentian)
Gentianaceae (Gentian family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
moss gentian (pygmy gentian)
Gentianaceae (Gentian family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
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Species Information
General:
Annual or biennial herb from a slender taproot; stems prostrate or ascending, few to many branched from the base, glabrous, 2-15 cm tall/long.
Leaves:
Basal leaves closely crowded, overlapping, spoon-shaped, forming a rosette; stem leaves opposite, 3-8 pairs, long-sheathing and overlapping at the base, egg-shaped to oblong, glaucous with broad whitish margins, 2-7 mm long, 1-5 mm wide.
Flowers:
Inflorescence of solitary, stalked flowers; corollas blue or whitish, usually narrowly funnel-shaped, 8-22 mm long, lobes 5, sometimes 4, the plaits between the lobes broadly triangular, 1/2 as long as the lobes; calyces 4- to 5-toothed, 8-16 mm long but shorter than the corolla tubes; stamens shorter than the corolla tubes; anthers 0.5 mm long.
Fruits:
Capsules, narrowly ellipsoid on a long stalk; seeds curved, glabrous, wingless or narrowly winged on one side, brown, 1 mm long.
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 Gentiana prostrata
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) |
1745 | 7 | 2682 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
28 | 0 | 103 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
182 | 5 | 360 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
3 | 0 | 6 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
C | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
128 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
BAFA | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
AT(14), BAFA(51), BWBS(7), ESSF(16), IMA(6), MH(1), MS(2), SBPS(1), SWB(12) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Moist meadows and seepage sites in the upper subalpine and alpine zones; infrequent in N and E BC; circumpolar, N to AK, YT and NT, E to SW AB and S to UT, CO and CA; Eurasia.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Chondrophylla nutans (Bunge) W.A. Weber
Chondrophylla prostrata (Haenke) J.P. Anders.
Ciminalis prostrata (Haenke) A. L÷ve & D. L÷ve
Gentiana nutans Bunge
Gentiana prostrata var. americana Engelm.