Common name:
Marsh gentian
Family:
Scientific name:
Gentiana pneumonanthe
Main flower color:
Range:
Small, scattered sites in Wales and England; most common in the New Forest
Height:
Up to 30 cm
Habitat:
Damp heaths and acidic grassland, around the margins of bogs. Also in dune slacks
Flowers:
Up to 45 cm long; a narrowly cone shaped corolla, greenish at the base becoming bright purplish-blue higher up, with five ascending lobes between which are five much smaller lobes. The larger lobes are flecked with green dots. The outside of the corolla is marked with five broad green stripes. The calyces, around a quarter of the length of the corolla, are divided about a third of their height into five narrow lobes. Flowers may be solitary or in groups of up to seven
Leaves:
Opposite, narrowly oblong to linear, up to 4 cm long, with blunt tips and one vein. Along the stem, not at the base
Season:
July to October
Rarity:
★★★★★
