BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Gentiana glauca | Glaucous Gentian 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Glaucous gentian is a native perennial which grows 1 to 6 inches (3-15
cm) tall.  It has creeping rootstocks and basal leaves which form small
rosettes.  The flowers are dark blue or greenish blue and up to 1 inch
(1-2 cm) across [5,9,12].


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Hemicryptophyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Glaucous gentian spreads vegetatively by its rootstocks [5] and can also
reproduce sexually by seed [2].


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Glaucous gentian is a tundra species that grows on moist subalpine and
alpine banks, ledges, sphagnum bogs, and meadows.  It grows in boggy
soil near or above timberline.  Glaucous gentian was part of a sedge
(Carex spp.)-dominated community that had been disrupted by frost
heaving [3].  Other associates include swamp laurel (Kalmia polifolia)
and yellow heather (Phyllodoce glandulifera) [5,8,9,11].  Glaucous
gentian occurs at elevations of 7,700 feet (2,485 m) in Montana [11],
5,890 feet (1,900 m) in Washington [3], and up to at least 4,930 feet
(1,500 m) in Alaska [6].


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
NO-ENTRY


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
Glaucous gentian flowers from July through September in the Pacific
Northwest [5].

Related categories for Species: Gentiana glauca | Glaucous Gentian