''Gentiana verna'', the spring gentian, is a species of flowering plant in the family Gentianaceae, and one of its smallest members, normally only growing to a height of a few centimetres. The short stem supports up to three opposing pairs of elliptical or lanceolate leaves. The conspicuous vivid blue (sometimes purplish-red or rarely white) flowers are 1–2 cm in diameter, with a deeply five-lobed

corolla Corolla may refer to: *Corolla (botany), the petals of a flower, considered as a unit *Toyota Corolla, an automobile model name * Corolla (headgear), an ancient headdress in the form of a circlet or crown * ''Corolla'' (gastropod), a genus of moll ...

; they are produced in late spring to early summer. The flowers attract butterflies and bees (particularly bumblebees) for pollination. Ants are responsible for the spreading of its seeds.

Distribution

''G. verna'' is one of the most widespread gentians, found on sunny

alpine meadow Alpine tundra is a type of natural region or biome that does not contain trees because it is at high elevation, with an associated harsh climate. As the latitude of a location approaches the poles, the threshold elevation for alpine tundra gets ...

s throughout Eurasia, from Ireland to Russia. It is common in central and southeastern Europe, such as in low mountain ranges like the Jura and Balkans, and up to an altitude of . It is also to be found in mountainous regions ranging from the High Atlas of Morocco to the mountains of Turkey, Iraq and Iran. In northern Europe, it is very rare, confined to Teesdale in northern England and a handful of locations in western Ireland. It tends to thrive on dry meadows with chalky soil; it is also known to grow in

silicaceous Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , most commonly found in nature as quartz and in various living organisms. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is one ...

soils. Its scarcity has led to protection in a number of European countries as an

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

Symbolism

It is the county flower of Durham in the United Kingdom. It was first found in Britain by the botanist John Harriman. A drawing of ''Gentiana verna'' by

Holly Somerville Holly Somerville is an Irish botanical artist, illustrator and teacher. She has worked for Trinity College, Dublin, and produced the botanical illustrations for the seventh edition of David Webb's ''An Irish Flora''. Career Born Holly Nixon in ...

is the logo for the botany department in Trinity College Dublin. ''Gentiana verna'' appeared on the design of a Great Britain stamp, issued in 1964 to mark the 10th International Botanical Congress held in Edinburgh. Writer and botanist

Stevan Jakovljević Stevan Jakovljević ( sr-cyr, Стеван Јаковљевић; 7 December 1890 – 2 November 1962) was a Serbian author, biologist and professor. He is most known as the author of the novel ''Likovi u senci'' and the trilogy ''Srpska trilogija ...

eulogized the flower in its Latin name at the end of his trilogy ''Srpska trilogija'' which writes of the

Serbian soldiers Serbian may refer to: * someone or something related to Serbia, a country in Southeastern Europe * someone or something related to the Serbs, a South Slavic people * Serbian language * Serbian names See also * * * Old Serbian (disambiguation) ...

who died during the

Battle of Kajmakčalan A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and forc ...

and the

Macedonian front The Macedonian front, also known as the Salonica front (after Thessaloniki), was a military theatre of World War I formed as a result of an attempt by the Allied Powers to aid Serbia, in the autumn of 1915, against the combined attack of German ...

during World War I (the flower grows on the soldiers' graves in the mountains of

Kajmakčalan Kajmakčalan (Kaimakchalan), or Kaimaki or Kaimaktsalan or Voras ( el, Καϊμακτσαλάν or or , mk, Каjмакчалан, translit=Kajmakčalan), is a mountain on the border between Greece and North Macedonia. It is the southernmost ...

). The flower is associated with the Alps, and gave its name to the trans-Alpine ''

Blauer Enzian The ''Blauer Enzian'' is a named express train service that currently runs between Frankfurt in Germany and Klagenfurt in Austria. Introduced in 1951, it originally ran via the German North–South railway line between Hamburg and Munich. Labell ...

'' ("Blue Gentian") express train between Germany and Austria. Saturday, 24 August 2019

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q159389 verna Alpine flora Flora of Europe Flora of North Africa Flora of Western Asia Flora of the Pyrenees Flora of the Alps Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus