''Gentiana andrewsii'', the bottle gentian, closed gentian, or closed bottle gentian, is an herbaceous species of flowering plant in the gentian family

Gentianaceae Gentianaceae is a family of flowering plants of 103 genera and about 1600 species. Etymology The family takes its name from the genus '' Gentiana'', named after the Illyrian king Gentius. Distribution Distribution is cosmopolitan. Characteri ...

. ''Gentiana andrewsii'' is native to northeastern North America, from the Dakotas to the

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and through eastern Canada. It shares the common name " bottle gentian" with several other species.

Description

''Gentiana andrewsii'' is a perennial herb that blooms in late summer (August to October). The flowers are long, typically a rich blue color and bottle shaped with closed mouths. The flowers are clustered at the top of the plant or in the axis of the top leaves. The stems are long, lax in habit, producing sprawling plants with upturned ends ending with clusters of bee pollinated flowers. The foliage is hairless with a glossy sheen to it.

Taxonomy

The plant was named in honor of Henry C. Andrews, an English botanical artist and engraver. Named infraspecies and hybrids include: *''Gentiana andrewsii'' var. ''andrewsii'' *''Gentiana andrewsii'' var. ''dakotica'' *''Gentiana andrewsii'' fo. ''albiflora'' *''Gentiana × billingtonii'' (''Gentiana andrewsii × puberulenta'') *''Gentiana × pallidocyanea'' ('' Gentiana alba x andrewsii'')

Ecology

Closed bottle gentian occurs in wet to dry-mesic

prairie Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...

s and prairie

fen A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetlands along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as mires. T ...

s, primarily in

loam Loam (in geology and soil science) is soil composed mostly of sand (particle size > ), silt (particle size > ), and a smaller amount of clay (particle size < ). By weight, its mineral composition is about 40–40–20% concentration of sand–sil ...

y soils, but it can also be found in sandy areas, such as near

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

shorelines. The closed flowers make entrance to feed on pollen or nectar difficult for many species of insects. Those strong enough to enter through the top of the flower include the

digger bee The Anthophorini are a large tribe in the subfamily Apinae of the family Apidae. Species in this tribe are often referred to as digger bees, although this common name is sometimes also applied to members of the tribe Centridini. It contains over ...

species '' Anthophora terminalis'' and the

bumblebee A bumblebee (or bumble bee, bumble-bee, or humble-bee) is any of over 250 species in the genus ''Bombus'', part of Apidae, one of the bee families. This genus is the only extant group in the tribe Bombini, though a few extinct related gener ...

species ''

Bombus fervidus ''Bombus fervidus'', the golden northern bumble bee or yellow bumblebee, is a species of bumblebee native to North America. It has a yellow-colored abdomen and thorax. Its range includes the North American continent, excluding much of the souther ...

'', '' Bombus griseocollis'', and ''

Bombus impatiens ''Bombus impatiens'', the common eastern bumble bee, is the most commonly encountered bumblebee across much of eastern North America. They can be found in the Eastern temperate forest region of the eastern United States, southern Canada, and the ...

''. The eastern carpenter bee (''Xylocopa virginica'') chews a narrow slit at the base of the flower and "steals" nectar without pollinating the plant, a behavior known as

nectar robbing Nectar robbing is a foraging behavior utilized by some organisms that feed on floral nectar, carried out by feeding from holes bitten in flowers, rather than by entering through the flowers' natural openings. "Nectar robbers" usually feed in this ...

. The holes in the petals created by this species allow smaller insects to also access the nectar and pollen, including the

honeybee A honey bee (also spelled honeybee) is a eusocial flying insect within the genus ''Apis'' of the bee clade, all native to Afro-Eurasia. After bees spread naturally throughout Africa and Eurasia, humans became responsible for the current cosmo ...

(''Apis mellifera''), the green sweat bee species ''

Augochlorella aurata ''Augochlorella aurata'' is a species of Halictidae, sweat bee (bees attracted by the salt in human sweat) in the family Halictidae. It is found in North America east of the Rocky Mountains. The body is a brilliant green metallic color, diffused ...

'' and '' Augochlorella persimilis'', and the

eastern masked bee ''Hylaeus affinis'' is a species of hymenopteran in the family Colletidae The Colletidae are a family of bees, and are often referred to collectively as plasterer bees or polyester bees, due to the method of smoothing the walls of their nest c ...

(''Hylaeus affinis''). This gentian is considered a threatened species in the US states of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

References

External links

andrewsii Flora of Eastern Canada Flora of the Northeastern United States Flora of the North-Central United States Flora of the Appalachian Mountains Flora of Ontario Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Gentianales-stub