''Gentianella'' is a plant

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

in the

gentian family 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. Characteristi ...

(Gentianaceae). Plants of this genus are known commonly as dwarf gentians. there were about 256 species in this genus. They are herbs that occur in alpine and arctic habitat types. They are distributed in the Americas, Eurasia, northern Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.von Hagen, K. B., & Kadereit, J. W. (2001)
The phylogeny of ''Gentianella'' (Gentianaceae) and its colonization of the southern hemisphere as revealed by nuclear and chloroplast DNA sequence variation.
''Organisms Diversity & Evolution'', 1(1), 61-79.

Selected species

*''

Gentianella alborosea ''Gentianella alborosea'' is a species of plant in the family Gentianaceae. It is one of two types of hercampuri, which is traditionally used in herbal medicine as an infusion, the other type of hercampuri being '' Gentianella nitida''. It has ...

'' – Hercampuri; Peru *''

Gentianella amarella ''Gentianella amarella'', the autumn gentian, autumn dwarf gentian, or autumn felwort, is a short biennial plant flowering plant in the gentian family, Gentianaceae. It is found throughout Northern Europe, the western and northern United States, ...

'' – Autumn gentian, felwort; Northern Europe, United States, Canada *''

Gentianella anglica ''Gentianella anglica'', the early gentian, is a species of flowering plant in the genus ''Gentianella'', native to Great Britain. ''Gentianella anglica'' is endemic to Great Britain and its centre of distribution is in Dorset, Wiltshire, and the ...

'' – Early gentian; Great Britain *'' Gentianella androsacea'' Ecuador *''

Gentianella anisodonta ''Gentianella'' is a plant genus in the gentian family (Gentianaceae). Plants of this genus are known commonly as dwarf gentians. there were about 256 species in this genus. They are herbs that occur in alpine and arctic habitat types. They are ...

'' Europe (Austria,Switzerland, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia and Turkey. *''

Gentianella antarctica ''Gentianella'' is a plant genus in the gentian family (Gentianaceae). Plants of this genus are known commonly as dwarf gentians. there were about 256 species in this genus. They are herbs that occur in alpine and arctic habitat types. They are ...

'' *''

Gentianella auriculata ''Gentianella'' is a plant genus in the gentian family (Gentianaceae). Plants of this genus are known commonly as dwarf gentians. there were about 256 species in this genus. They are herbs that occur in alpine and arctic habitat types. They are ...

'' * ''

Gentianella austriaca ''Gentianella'' is a plant genus in the gentian family (Gentianaceae). Plants of this genus are known commonly as dwarf gentians. there were about 256 species in this genus. They are herbs that occur in alpine and arctic habitat types. They are ...

'' Eastern Switzerland, Austria * ''

Gentianella aspera ''Gentianella'' is a plant genus in the gentian family (Gentianaceae). Plants of this genus are known commonly as dwarf gentians. there were about 256 species in this genus. They are herbs that occur in alpine and arctic habitat types. They are ...

'' Austria *'' Gentianella barringtonensis'' – Barrington snow gentian; New South Wales *''

Gentianella bellidifolia ''Gentianella bellidifolia'' is a species of the genus ''Gentianella'' that is native to New Zealand. ''G. bellidifolia'' is found in alpine areas of both the North and South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of ...

'' New Zealand *''

Gentianella bulgarica ''Gentianella'' is a plant genus in the Gentianaceae, gentian family (Gentianaceae). Plants of this genus are known commonly as dwarf gentians. there were about 256 species in this genus. They are herbs that occur in alpine and arctic habitat t ...

'' *''

Gentianella campestris ''Gentianella campestris'', common name field gentian, is a small herbaceous biennial flowering plant in the Gentianaceae (gentian family) native to Europe. Its bluish-purple flowers contain four petals. Description ''Gentianella campestris'' i ...

'' – Field gentian; northern, central and southern Europe *'' Gentianella cerina'' – Giant gentian; New Zealand *''

Gentianella cernua ''Gentianella cernua'' is a species of plant in the family Gentianaceae. It is endemic to Ecuador. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Po ...

'' Ecuador *''

Gentianella ciliata ''Gentianella'' is a plant genus in the gentian family (Gentianaceae). Plants of this genus are known commonly as dwarf gentians. there were about 256 species in this genus. They are herbs that occur in alpine and arctic habitat types. They are ...

'' – Fringed gentian *''

Gentianella concinna ''Gentianella concinna'' is a flowering plant species, endemic to the Auckland Islands of New Zealand. Description It is an annual plant with much-branched stems up to long. The leaves are fleshy and leathery, oblong-spatheolate to linear-oblo ...

'' New Zealand *''

Gentianella crassulifolia ''Gentianella crassulifolia'' is a species of plant in the Gentianaceae family. It is endemic to Ecuador. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant communit ...

'' Ecuador *''

Gentianella fastigiata ''Gentianella fastigiata'' is a species of plant in the Gentianaceae family. It is endemic to Ecuador. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community ch ...

'' Ecuador *''

Gentianella flaviflora ''Gentianella flaviflora'' is a species of plant in the Gentianaceae family. It is endemic to Ecuador. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasse ...

'' Ecuador *''

Gentianella foliosa ''Gentianella foliosa'' is a species of plant in the family Gentianaceae. It is endemic to Ecuador. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses ( ...

'' Ecuador *''

Gentianella fuscicaulis ''Gentianella fuscicaulis'' is a species of plant in the Gentianaceae family. It is endemic to Ecuador. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland and subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland A grassland ...

'' Ecuador *''

Gentianella germanica ''Gentianella germanica'', common name German gentian, also known in the United Kingdom as the Chiltern gentian, is a flowering plant in the family Gentianaceae. It was chosen as the county flower of Buckinghamshire. Within the UK, it is only na ...

'' – Chiltern gentian, German gentian; UK and Europe *''

Gentianella gilioides ''Gentianella gilioides'' is a species of plant in the Gentianaceae family. It is endemic to Ecuador. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community cha ...

'' Ecuador *''

Gentianella gracilis ''Gentianella gracilis'' is a species of plant in the Gentianaceae family. It is endemic to Ecuador. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses ...

'' Ecuador *''

Gentianella heterosepala ''Gentianella'' is a plant genus in the gentian family (Gentianaceae). Plants of this genus are known commonly as dwarf gentians. there were about 256 species in this genus. They are herbs that occur in alpine and arctic habitat types. They are ...

'' – Autumn gentian *''

Gentianella hirculus ''Gentianella hirculus'' is a species of plant in the Gentianaceae family. It is endemic to Ecuador. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland and subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland A grassland is ...

'' Ecuador *''

Gentianella hypericoides ''Gentianella hypericoides'' is a species of plant in the Gentianaceae family. It is endemic to Ecuador. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community ...

Gentianella rupicola ''Gentianella rupicola'' is a species of plant in the family Gentianaceae. It is endemic to Ecuador. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses ...

'' Ecuador *''

Gentianella saxifragoides ''Gentianella saxifragoides'' is a species of plant in the Gentianaceae family. It is endemic to Ecuador. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by gra ...

'' Ecuador *''

Gentianella scopulorum ''Gentianella'' is a plant genus in the gentian family (Gentianaceae). Plants of this genus are known commonly as dwarf gentians. there were about 256 species in this genus. They are herbs that occur in alpine and arctic habitat types. They are ...

'' – Charleston gentian *'' Gentianella spenceri'' *'' Gentianella splendens'' Ecuador *'' Gentianella sulphurea'' Ecuador *'' Gentianella tenella'' – Slender gentian *'' Gentianella tortuosa'' *''

Gentianella uliginosa ''Gentianella uliginosa'' is a species of flowering plant belonging to 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'' ...

'' – Dune gentian; Europe *'' Gentianella wislizeni'' *'' Gentianella wrightii''

Description

Vegetative characteristics

''Gentianella''-species grow as one- to two-year-old or more rarely perennial

herbaceous plant Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of t ...

s. The stem

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

are arranged cross-wise or more rarely whorled in ground leaf rosettes or distributed on the stem. The leaf blades are simple. Plants range from 3–100 cm in height.

Generative characteristics

Flowers end up individually or in a

cymose An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed on ...

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

with double flower envelope. The

hermaphrodite In reproductive biology, a hermaphrodite () is an organism that has both kinds of reproductive organs and can produce both gametes associated with male and female sexes. Many Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic groups of animals (mostly invertebrate ...

flowers are 0.5–5 cm long, have four or five petals with entire petal margins, displaying

radial symmetry Symmetry in biology refers to the symmetry observed in organisms, including plants, animals, fungi, and bacteria. External symmetry can be easily seen by just looking at an organism. For example, take the face of a human being which has a pla ...

. They have one or two naked

nectaries Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries or nectarines, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualists ...

per petal lobe on the upper petal surface. The four or five

sepals A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...

have grown together. There is no connective skin in the calyx (unlike many in the

Gentian family 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. Characteristi ...

). The four or five

are fused in a tubular or funnel shape, but unlike with many Gentiana-types, no fold-flaps (plicae) are present between the corolla-tips. Appendages may be absent or present as fringed scales at the corolla-leaf-base. There are

at the base of the corolla tube, the length of which varies considerably, and which is variously colored. Some have a ring of

vascularized Angiogenesis is the physiological process through which new blood vessels form from pre-existing vessels, formed in the earlier stage of vasculogenesis. Angiogenesis continues the growth of the vasculature by processes of sprouting and splitting ...

or non-vascularized fimbriae in the corolla throat. There is only one circle with four or five

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

s, which are inserted at the corolla tube and do not protrude from it. The

stylus A stylus (plural styli or styluses) is a writing utensil or a small tool for some other form of marking or shaping, for example, in pottery. It can also be a computer accessory that is used to assist in navigating or providing more precision w ...

is short to absent. The two-lobed

capsule (fruit) In botany a capsule is a type of simple, dry, though rarely fleshy dehiscent fruit produced by many species of angiosperms (flowering plants). Origins and structure The capsule (Latin: ''capsula'', small box) is derived from a compound (multic ...

contains many seeds with a smooth to warty surface.

Distribution

Most ''Gentianella-species are native to

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

. In addition, species occur in the

Temperate Zones In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...

of New Zealand, Australia, Asia, Europe, North America and northwestern Africa.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Gentianella'' was introduced in 1794 by

Conrad Moench Conrad Moench (sometimes written Konrad Mönch; 15 August 1744 – 6 January 1805) was a German botanist, professor of botany at Marburg University from 1786 until his death. He wrote 'Methodus Plantas horti botanici et agri Marburgensis' in 179 ...

in ''Methodus Plantas Horti Botanici et Agri Marburgensis : a staminum situ describendi''. The genus name ''Gentianella'' is a

diminutive A diminutive is a root word that has been modified to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment. A (abbreviated ) is a word-formati ...

and means directly translated "Little Gentian".

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

for ''Gentianella'' (Moench) are: ''Aliopsis'' (Omer & Qaiser), ''Aloitis'' (Raf.), ''Arctogentia'' (Á. Löve), ''Chionogentias'' (L.G.Adams), ''Parajaeschkea'' (Burkill), ''Pitygentias'' (Gilg), ''Selatium'' (G. Don). The genus ''Gentianella'' belongs to the subtribe Swertiinae from the tribe Gentianeae within the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Gentian ''Gentiana'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the gentian family (Gentianaceae), the tribe Gentianeae, and the monophyletic subtribe Gentianinae. With about 400 species it is considered a large genus. They are notable for their mostl ...

s (Gentianaceae). In the past, ''Gentianella'' were added to the genus

gentians ''Gentiana'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the gentian family (Gentianaceae), the tribe Gentianeae, and the monophyletic subtribe Gentianinae. With about 400 species it is considered a large genus. They are notable for their most ...

(''Gentiana''), but these two genera belong to different subtribe today. The clearest distinguishing feature is that in all ''Gentianella species'' native to Central Europe, a fringed scale supplied with guide bundles per each petal tip is present in the throat of the corolla. This resembles a wreath (which is why it is called "wreath gentian" in German). Also, ''

Gentianopsis ''Gentianopsis'' is a genus of flowering plants in the gentian family known commonly as fringed gentians. These are similar to the gentians of genus ''Gentiana''. Most have flowers which are blue to purple in color. They may be annual or perennia ...

'' with their fringed corolla-ends and hair-ends ('Comastoma') which are likewise fringed, but have anatomically differently constructed pharyngeal scales, were later separated of the Gentinellas.

References

External links

* Gentianaceae genera {{Gentianales-stub