Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Lamiids: Gentianales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Gentianella quinquefolia
FAMILY
Gentianaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Stiff Gentian at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
Flower color ranges from white to deep purple. Feast your eyes on photographs of the southeastern Gentians in Jim Fowler's blog.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Gentianella quinquefolia ssp. quinquefolia
FAMILY
Gentianaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 155-02-002:
Gentiana quinquefolia FAMILY Gentianaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)
Gentianella quinquefolia var. quinquefolia
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Gentianella quinquefolia
COMMON NAME:
Stiff Gentian, Appalachian Gentianella, Fivefinger Gentian, Eastern Agueweed
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_gequ3_001_lvd
)
Keith Bradley kab_g_quinquefolia_2954
August Macon County NC
Nantahala National Forest
Flowers in 3-5 flowered cymes, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm070917_121
September Haywood County NC
Pisgah National Forest: Pisgah Ranger District
)
JK Marlow jkm070917_125
September Haywood County NC
Pisgah National Forest: Pisgah Ranger District
A profusion of narrow tubular flowers in dense terminal clusters, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm070917_137
September Haywood County NC
Pisgah National Forest: Pisgah Ranger District
)
JK Marlow jkm090913_029
September Jackson County NC
Stem leaves sessile with acute tips & rounded base; basal leaves spatulate, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm090913_128
September Jackson County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm190914_1583
September Swain County NC
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_g_quinquefolia_4
October Union County GA
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Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_g_quinquefolia_4b
October Union County GA
Calyx cleft half its length, lobes linear, acute, erect to slightly spreading, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Gentianella quinquefolia
FAMILY
Gentianaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Gentianella quinquefolia ssp. quinquefolia
FAMILY
Gentianaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 155-02-002:
Gentiana quinquefolia
FAMILY
Gentianaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)
Gentianella quinquefolia var. quinquefolia
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Gentianella quinquefolia
604
Forb
Annual
Habitat: forests, grassy balds, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common in NC Mountains, uncommon in GA & SC Mountains (rare elsewhere in GA-NC-SC)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Opposite
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
Violet/ Purplish
Radially symmetrical
5-lobed calyx
5-lobed corolla
5 stamens
Inflorescence a cyme
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Gentians of the Eastern US (Drake, 2011) p124
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962) p128
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p155
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p173
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p184
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p254
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p428
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p197
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p214
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p186
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p222
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p123
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
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Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".