Gentiana

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Gentian
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"Gentian" redirects here. For other uses, see Gentian (disambiguation).

Gentiana
Gentiana verna
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Gentianaceae
Tribe: Gentianeae
Subtribe: Gentianinae
Genus: Gentiana
L.
Type species
Gentiana lutea L.
Species

See text

Synonyms[1]
List
  • Aloitis Raf.
  • Anthopogon Neck.
  • Asterias Borkh.
  • Bilamista Raf.
  • Calathiana Delarbre
  • Chaelothilus Neck.
  • Chiophila Raf.
  • Chondrophylla A.Nelson
  • Ciminalis Adans.
  • Coilantha Borkh.
  • Cruciata Gilib.
  • Cuttera Raf.
  • Dasistepha Raf.
  • Dasystephana Adans.
  • Dicardiotis Raf.
  • Diploma Raf.
  • Endotriche Steud.
  • Ericala Reneaulme ex Gray
  • Ericoila Reneaulme ex Borkh.
  • Favargera Á.Löve & D.Löve
  • Gaertneria Neck.
  • Gentianodes Á.Löve & D.Löve
  • Gentianusa Pohl
  • Hippion F.W.Schmidt
  • Holubia Á.Löve & D.Löve
  • Holubogentia Á.Löve & D.Löve
  • Kudoa Masam.
  • Kuepferella M.Laínz
  • Kurramiana Omer & Qaiser
  • Lexipyretum Dulac
  • Pneumonanthe Gled.
  • Psalina Raf.
  • Qaisera Omer
  • Rassia Neck.
  • Ricoila Reneaulme ex Raf.
  • Sebeokia Neck.
  • Selatium D.Don ex G.Don
  • Spiragyne Neck.
  • Thylacitis Reneaulme ex Adans.
  • Thyrophora Neck.
  • Tretorhiza Adans.
  • Tretorrhiza Reneaulme ex Delarbre
  • Varasia Phil.
  • Xolemia Raf.

Gentiana (/ˌdʒɛntʃiˈeɪnə/)[2] is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the gentian family (Gentianaceae), the tribe Gentianeae, and the monophyletic subtribe Gentianinae. With about 400 species, it is considered a large genus. Gentians are notable for their mostly large trumpet-shaped flowers, which are often of an intense blue hue.[3]

The genus name is a tribute to Gentius, an Illyrian king who may have discovered tonic properties in gentians.[4]

Habitat

Gentiana frigida

This is a

temperate
regions of Asia, Europe and the Americas. Some species also occur in northwestern Africa, eastern Australia, and New Zealand. They are annual, biennial, and perennial plants. Some are evergreen, others are not.

Many gentians are difficult to grow outside their wild habitat, but several species are available in cultivation. Gentians are fully hardy and can grow in full sun or partial shade. They grow in well-drained, neutral-to-acid soils rich in humus. They are popular in rock gardens.

Uses

Many beverages are made with gentian root.

distilled beverage produced in the Alps and in the Auvergne.[6] Some species are harvested for the manufacture of apéritifs, liqueurs, and tonics
.

Gentian root is a common beverage flavouring for bitters. The soft drink Moxie contains gentian root.[7] The French apéritif Suze is made with gentian. Americano apéritifs contain gentian root for bitter flavoring.[8] It is an ingredient in the Italian liqueur Aperol. It is also used as the main flavor in the German after-dinner digestif called Underberg, and the main ingredient in Angostura bitters and Peychaud's Bitters.

The bitter principle of gentian root is primarily gentiopicrin (also called gentiopicroside),[9] a glycoside. A 2007 paper by a Japanese group identified 23 compounds in fresh gentian root.[10] Gentiopicrin was absent from fresh root, so it possibly develops during drying and storage of the root.

Gentian has had a limited use in perfumery, most notably as a glycerine soap (Crabtree & Evelyn) and a perfume (Corday's Possession, 1937).

Pharmacological uses

dyspepsia.[15]

Gentiana punctata leaves and roots have been used in traditional Austrian medicine internally and externally as liqueur or tea for disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, skin, locomotor system, liver and bile, and for pediatric problems, fever, flu, rheumatism, and gout.[16]

Picrorhiza scrophulariiflora (胡黃蓮 Hú Huáng Lián) from traditional Chinese medicine
.

Symbolism

Coat of arms of the German-speaking Community of Belgium
The emblem of the Minamoto clan

The gentian flower was used as the emblem of the

German-speaking community of Belgium
.

Species

General

Gentians have oppositely arranged leaves, sometimes in a basal rosette. The trumpet-shaped

corolla and five sepals. A few species have four to seven flower parts. The corolla has folds called plicae between the lobes. The style
is short or absent. The ovary is mostly sessile and has nectary glands.

List of accepted species

[17]

Formerly placed here

[19]

Cultivation

Gentiana paradoxa

Several gentian species may be found in cultivation, and are valued for the unusual intensity of their blue flowers. They have a reputation for being difficult to grow. All require similar conditions – moist, rich, free-draining soil with an acid to neutral pH. They include:[3]

In addition, the following cultivars, of mixed or uncertain parentage, have gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit:[20]

References

  1. ^ "Gentiana Tourn. ex L." Plants of the World Online. Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2017. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  2. ISBN 978-0-376-03850-0
    .
  3. ^
    ISBN 978-1-4053-3296-5
    .
  4. ISBN 978-0-520-00606-5
    . Gentiana gentius.
  5. ^ Strewe L. "Ethnobotany of gentians". Gentian Research Network.
  6. ^ "Espace Avèze | Office de Tourisme du Pays de Salers".
  7. ^ Orchant R (March 1, 2013). "Moxie: The distinctively different soda that New England loves". The Huffington Post.
  8. ^ "Quinquina & Americano by Brand". Vermouth 101.
  9. ^ PubChem. Gentiopicroside. https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Gentiopicrin
  10. doi:10.1007/s11418-007-0143-x
  11. ^ "Gentian". WebMD.
  12. PMID 20734279
    .
  13. PMID 11474820
    .
  14. PMID 16257245
    .
  15. PMID 26074998
    .
  16. PMID 23770053
    .
  17. ^ "The Plant List: Gentiana L." Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanic Garden. 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  18. ISBN 978-89-97450-98-5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 May 2017. Retrieved 16 December 2016 – via Korea Forest Service
    .
  19. ^ "The Plant List: A working list of all plant species".
  20. ^ "AGM Plants – Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 42. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  21. ^ "Gentiana 'Blue Silk'". RHS Plantfinder. Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  22. ^ "Gentiana 'Shot Silk'". RHS Plantfinder. Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  23. ^ "Gentiana 'Strathmore'". RHS Plantfinder. Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 27 February 2018.

Further reading

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gentiana.
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