About Gentianopsis holopetala (A.Gray) Iltis
Gentianopsis holopetala is a flowering plant species belonging to the gentian family. It is commonly known as the Sierra fringed gentian, or simply Sierra gentian. It is native to the Sierra Nevada and the adjacent mountains of California and Nevada, where it grows in wet meadows at elevations between 6000 and 11,000 feet. This plant is an annual or perennial herb. Its stems range from a few centimeters to nearly half a meter in length, and may grow either prostrate along the ground or erect. Its small oval or spoon-shaped leaves are mostly found in a basal rosette, but may also grow sparsely along the length of the stem. Each individual flower develops at the tip of a long peduncle that may be longer than the main stem of the plant. The flower is trumpet-shaped, reaching up to 5 centimeters long. It narrows at the mouth before opening into a corolla that has four lobes, each approximately half as long as the corolla tube. Flowers can be any shade of purple or blue, and have longitudinal striping in shades ranging from purple to nearly white. The inner throat of the trumpet-shaped flower may be white. The plant has four pointed green sepals, with a dark stipe. Its fruit is a capsule that holds several bumpy seeds.
