Gentiana clusii

Clusius gentian (Gentiana clusii )

The Clusius gentian (Gentiana clusii ), also Stemless gentian Lime, True Alpine gentian or lime - bell - gentian called, is a gentian with a single bell flower on a very short stalk.

Namensherkünfte

The Style epithet " clusii " and terms such as " Clusius gentian " come from the physician and naturalist Charles de l' Ecluse ( Clusius Latinized, 1526-1609 ), who described this plant for the first time. The Clusius gentian is often confused with another gentian, the Koch's gentian ( G. acaulis ), whose botanical name translates as Stemless gentian means. The term " Stemless Kalkenzian " refers to the extremely short in both species stems, the word " lime " on the occurrence of calcareous subsoil.

Description

The during the flowering very showy, overwintering green, perennial herbaceous plant reaches heights of growth between five and 15 centimeters. The undergraduate, broad - lanceolate and pointed leaves are arranged as a rosette, up to five inches long and are usually at and below the middle at the widest. They feel a bit leathery and tough. A sprig is available, but it is very short. Stem leaves are not always available, if so, then there are up to three couples, and they are smaller than the rosette leaves. The five sepals are fused together into a long calyx tube. The five slightly protruding, at its lower end a little constricted and sharply pointed sepals are usually longer than half the calyx tube and the Goblet bays are pointed. The hermaphrodite, radiärsymmetrische, upright flower is bell-shaped and has a length of up to five centimeters. The bottom five petals fused together, which expire in Zipfel, are intensely blue and inside striped whitish or clear dots dark blue. With decreasing temperature, the flower closes. Often, then, as well as in wet places of the stems with the flower to the ground. The flowering period lasts from May to August.

Occurrence

The Clusius gentian grows on poor and calcareous dry grasslands or on gravel base in the Alps, in the foothills of the Alps, the Jura, the Black Forest and in the Carpathians. It is spread by the montane valley up in an alpine altitude of 2,800 m.

Distinction from G. acaulis

The two bell - gentian with very short stalks, Clusius gentian gentian shear and cooking are very similar. However, the Koch gentian differs from Clusius gentian unique in that it has broader rosette leaves and blunt bays between the sepals and the azure flowers bell is provided at the throat usually with five green spots. The absence of these spots the Clusius gentian acts of intense blue. The two species are largely free of overlap in their occurrence, as G. acaulis is a kalkmeidende kind and G. clusii found only on limestone. The botanist speaks in such cases of vicarious species.

Use

With this characteristic, in relation to the rest of the plant body extremely large, bright blue flowering of gentian was the archetype of the Alps and of gentian flower par excellence. Most of the pictures on which gentian is presented without further designation, show its flowers - including on labels of liquor and medicine bottles, although there never constituents of stems Loose gentian, but almost always bitter substances from the roots of large breed Yellow Gentian (Gentiana lutea ) are included.

Conservation

The Clusius gentian is, like all other types of gentian, in Germany and Austria under protection. Like the Koch gentian he is out of horticultural propagation available in specialized nurseries.