Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Lamiids: Gentianales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Gentiana catesbyi
FAMILY
Gentianaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Coastal Plain Gentian at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
This closely resembles Soapwort Gentian. Read more about the southeastern Gentians in Jim Fowler's blog.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Gentiana catesbaei
FAMILY
Gentianaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 155-02-009:
Gentiana catesbaei FAMILY Gentianaceae
INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Dasystephana latifolia
INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Dasystephana parvifolia
COMMON NAME:
Coastal Plain Gentian, Catesby's Gentian, Elliott's Gentian
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_dapa3_001_lvd
)
Keith Bradley kab_g_catesbaei_4696
October Richmond County NC
North Carolina Sandhills Gamelands
)
Rob Hunnings rlh_harvestbells_20131025
October Brunswick County NC
Green Swamp
Stem more robust and flowers longer & larger than those of G. saponaria, per Gentians of the Eastern US (Drake, 2011).
)
Rob Hunnings rlh_harvestbells20131025b
October Brunswick County NC
Green Swamp
Calyx lobes are oblanceolate and 10-35mm long by 1.5-7mm wide, per Gentians of the Eastern US (Drake, 2011).
)
Will Stuart wil_8439437214_0eb48388ee
October Orange County
North Carolina Botanical Garden
)
Will Stuart wil_gcatesbaei_1from238
October Richmond County NC
North Carolina Sandhills Gamelands
Though technically bisexual, gentians develop mature pollen-bearing anthers...
)
Will Stuart wil_gcatesbaei_2from7213
October Richmond County NC
North Carolina Sandhills Gamelands
... before the female parts mature, a timing sequence known as protandry, per Book of Swamp and Bog (Eastman, 1995).
)
Will Stuart wil_gcatesbaei_from655
October Richmond County NC
North Carolina Sandhills Gamelands
)
Will Stuart wil_gcatesbaei_from738b
October Richmond County NC
North Carolina Sandhills Gamelands
More likely than G. saponaria to have several corollas open at one time, per Gentians of the Eastern US (Drake, 2011).
)
Will Stuart wil_gcatesbaei_from738d
October Richmond County NC
North Carolina Sandhills Gamelands
The mechanism of sequentially unisexual flowers prevents self-fertilization, per Book of Swamp and Bog (Eastman, 1995).
)
Will Stuart wil_gcatesbaei_leaves
October Richmond County NC
North Carolina Sandhills Gamelands
Leaves mostly 1-3" long, widest near the base, finely toothed along margins, per Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers (Nelson, 2006).
)
Will Stuart wil_gcatesbaei_syrphid
October Richmond County NC
North Carolina Sandhills Gamelands
Corollas range from closed to open; lobes noticeably longer than appendages, per Gentians of the Eastern US (Drake, 2011).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Gentiana catesbyi
FAMILY
Gentianaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Gentiana catesbaei
FAMILY
Gentianaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 155-02-009:
Gentiana catesbaei
FAMILY
Gentianaceae
INCLUDING
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Dasystephana latifolia
INCLUDING
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Dasystephana parvifolia
1912
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: pocosins, moist longleaf pine savanna edges, edges of moist hardwood forests, bluff seepages, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common in Coastal Plain (rare elsewhere)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Opposite
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
Blue/ Violet
Radially symmetrical
5-lobed calyx
5-lobed corolla
5 stamens
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- All About South Carolina Wildflowers (Midgley, 1999) p164
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers (Nelson, 2006) p057
- Gentians of the Eastern US (Drake, 2011) p084
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p271
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p391
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p426
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p213
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011) p211
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
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