Bottle gentian is a small native wildflower with bottle blue flowers from late August to October. Also called Meadow Closed Gentian or Meadow Bottle Gentian, it is a member of the family Gentianaceae, which are leafy herbs, commonly with showy bell- or trumpet-shaped flowers blooming in a branched cluster. There are about 70 genera and 1,100 species that occur in many different habitats in temperate and subtropical regions. Some gentians are cultivated as ornamentals. There are a number of species closely related to G. clausa and similar in appearance. G. andrewsii (Prairie Bottle Gentian) is nearly identical, distinguished by a fine fringe on the petal tips around the opening, and is more common westward.
Only about 1 foot talk, Bottle Gentian has simple (unbranched) stems that are round, hairless, and either light green or purple. The opposite leaves are up to 4½" long and 2" across, and sessile against the stem. They are broadly lanceolate or ovate, with smooth margins and parallel venation. The upper surface of each leaf is dark green and often shiny. Both the upper and lower leaf surfaces are devoid of hairs. The uppermost tier of leaves is often whorled.
The flowers occur in axils and at the top of the stem immediately above the whorled leaves, and remain closed at the top like a bottle even when the flower is ready to receive
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image courtesy of David Schwaegler via flckr