Pale Gentian

Notes:

Pale Gentian (Gentiana alba) is a perennial plant that grows up to 1 m tall, with a long, thick taproot and a stout, smooth unbranched stem. Its growth form tends to be somewhat sprawling. Leaves are pale yellowish or olive green, broadly lance-shaped to egg-shaped with a somewhat heart-shaped base, opposite except just beneath the flowers, where they are whorled. Flowers appear in the axils of the leaves, but are clustered towards the apex of the stem. The flowers are white, greenish-white or pale creamy-white, tube-shaped or spindle-shaped with closed mouths. The fruits are oval to egg-shaped capsules. The genus Gentiana is named after Gentius, King of Illyria (ancient name for Greece) who, around 500 B.C., found the roots of the European Yellow Gentian (Gentiana lutea) to have a healing effect on his malaria-stricken troops. The root of Pale Gentian has been used by North American natives as a medicinal tea.