Gentiana andrewsii
Closed Gentian or Bottle Gentian
GENTIANACEAE
The dark blue (occasionally white), bottle-like flowers grow in clusters at the top of the stem. The five or more flowers are 1 to 1 1/2 inch long and closed. The plant itself grows up to two feet and the leaves are four inches long.
The Closed Gentian is one of the Gentian family which attracts insects by their fragrant nectars. Bees force open the bottles of this particular species to get to the nectar.
They bloom late in the season from August to October and can be found in moist meadows, fields, thickets, and ditches along side the roadway. The plant ranges from Vermont and Massachusetts south to Georgia, west to Arkansas and north to southern Canada.
Easy to grow in a moist wildflower garden, the plant needs moist, but well drained, neutral to slightly acidic soil. Full sun if your summers are cool and damp. Shade if your summers are hot and dry.
