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Photographer: Paul Drobot
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Family Gentianaceae
Gentiana alba Muhl. ex Nutt.
cream gentian, pale gentian, yellow gentian
Gentiana: named after Gentius, King of Illyria, who around 500 B.C. found the roots of the herb yellow gentian or bitterwort to have a healing effect on his malaria-stricken troops
alba: Latin for "white"
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| Status: | Threatened |
| Plant: | erect to drooping, perennial, 2'-3' tall forb, smooth, usually not branched; stems stout |
| Flower: | cream, 5-parted, 1 1/4"-2" long, tubular-shaped with small opening at the top and irregular folds between the petals; inflorescence a dense, many-flowered cluster; blooms Aug.-Sept. |
| Leaf: | mostly stalkless, smooth, yellow-green |
| Habitat: | moist; meadows, prairies, woods |
| (Glossary) |
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