''Gentiana cruciata'', the star gentian or cross gentian, is a

herbaceous 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 ...

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

USDA
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flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the

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 ...

family.

Description

''Gentiana cruciata'' is a hemicryptophyte

scapose This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary o ...

plant of small size, reaching on average in height.Pignatti S. - Flora d'Italia – Edagricole – 1982. Vol. II, pag. 331 It has erect stems, the leaves are large, ovate-lanceolate, semiamplexicaul, about long. The flowers are violet-blue trumpets with 4 petals, clustered in the axils of upper leaves. The flowering period extends from June to August. The flowers are

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 ...

and pollinated by insects (

entomogamy Entomophily or insect pollination is a form of pollination whereby pollen of plants, especially but not only of flowering plants, is distributed by insects. Flowers pollinated by insects typically advertising in biology, advertise themselves wi ...

). The fruit is a capsule. The seeds are dispersed by gravity alone (barochory).

Distribution

''Gentiana cruciata'' is widespread in most of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

(except

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

and

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

) and in Western

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

.Luirig
/ref>

Habitat

This plant prefers dry calcareous soil in forest edges, bushy slopes, pastures, grasslands and dry meadows, at an altitude of above sea level.

Host for ''Phengaris rebeli''

Phengaris rebeli ''Phengaris rebeli'' (formerly ''Maculinea rebeli''), common name mountain Alcon blue, is a species of butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It was first found and described in Styria, Austria, on Mount Hochschwab around 1700. Although it was in ...

'' is an

endangered 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 inva ...

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

which feeds upon ''G. cruciata.'' Female ''P. rebeli'' lay their eggs on the upper side of ''G. cruciata'' leaves and three to four weeks later, the ''P. rebeli''

larvae A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

emerge and begin to feed on the seeds and flowers of this grassland plant. After the ''P. rebeli'' reaches its fourth larval

instar An instar (, from the Latin '' īnstar'', "form", "likeness") is a developmental stage of arthropods, such as insects, between each moult (''ecdysis''), until sexual maturity is reached. Arthropods must shed the exoskeleton in order to grow or ass ...

, it drops to the ground to be picked up by ''

Myrmica schencki ''Myrmica schencki'' is a species of ant in the genus '' Myrmica''. Distribution and habitat ''Myrmica schencki'' is distributed across Europe (from Great Britain, Sweden, Finland in the North to Spain, Italy and the Balkans in the South), the C ...

'' ants and brought to their nests. Female ''P. rebeli'' prefer to lay eggs on ''G. cruciata'' growing in clumps rather than individual plants, and on the taller plants, as they are less shaded and allow the eggs to grow and develop faster.

Cultural Importance

According to Hungarian legend, a pestilence spread throughout the kingdom during King Ladislaus's reign. Ladislaus prayed for a cure; he then shot an arrow into the air at random, hitting a star gentian plant which cured the illness. This plant became known as "Saint Ladislaus's herb" in Hungary.

Gallery

File:Gentianaceae - Gentiana cruciata.JPG, Plants of ''Gentiana cruciata'' File:Gentianaceae - Gentiana cruciata-1.JPG, Plant of ''Gentiana cruciata'' File:Gentianaceae - Gentiana cruciata-2.JPG, Flowers of ''Gentiana cruciata'' File:Gentiana cruciata 2.jpg, Close-up on flowers of ''Gentiana cruciata''

References

External links

Gentiana cruciata

Calphoto
cruciata Flora of Europe Flora of Western Asia Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Gentianales-stub