''Gentiana bredboensis'' commonly known as Bredbo gentian, is a flowering plant in the 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 ...

and is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to New South Wales. It is a small annual herb with white flowers.

Description

''Gentiana bredboensis'' is an annual herb, high with stems having multi-branches, the surface finely rough and uneven. The basal leaves are in pairs of 3–6, broadly oval-shaped, long, wide, margins finely rough to smooth. The cauline leaves are in pairs of 3–6, becoming thicker and smaller toward the end of the stem, long, and wide. The flowers are borne 1–6 on each plant, the

calyx Calyx or calyce (plural "calyces"), from the Latin ''calix'' which itself comes from the Ancient Greek ''κάλυξ'' (''kálux'') meaning "husk" or "pod", may refer to: Biology * Calyx (anatomy), collective name for several cup-like structures ...

long with narrow winged ribs and the lobes long. The corolla is long, white on the inside, pinkish coloured on the outside with spreading lobes and separated at the end. Flowering has been recorded in December and the fruit is an oblong-oval shaped capsule long.

Taxonomy and naming

''Gentiana bredboensis'' was first formally described in 1988 by Laurence George Adams and the description was published in '' Telopea''. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''(bredboensis)'' is in reference to the type location near the Bredbo River.

Distribution and habitat

This gentiana has a restricted distribution near the Bredbo River on sandy, granitic soils in very wet conditions.

Conservation status

''Gentiana bredboensis'' is classified as "critically endangered" under the New South Wales

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act The ''Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999'' (Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia that provides a framework for protection of the Australian environment, including its biodiversity and its natural and cultu ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q27828479 bredboensis Flora of New South Wales