About Gentiana alba Muhl. ex J.Mc Nab
Gentiana alba, known by common names including plain gentian, pale gentian, white gentian, cream gentian, and yellow gentian, is a herbaceous flowering plant species in the Gentian family Gentianaceae. It grows from thick white taproots and produces yellowish-white flowers. This species is native to North America, ranging from Manitoba and Ontario in the north, south to Oklahoma, Arkansas, and North Carolina. It is listed as rare, endangered, threatened, or extirpated in parts of this native range. Gentiana alba resembles the closely related bottle gentian (Gentiana andrewsii), which shares most of its range. The two differ in that bottle gentian has blue flowers and a less upright growth habit. Gentiana alba begins blooming a few weeks earlier than bottle gentian, and its flowers are more open at the tops. Gentiana alba can hybridize with Gentiana andrewsii, producing upright plants with white flowers that have blue edges. A known synonym for this species is Gentiana flavida A. Gray.
