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Pygmy gentian facts for kids

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Pygmy gentian
Gentiana prostrata Atlas Alpenflora.jpg
Scientific classification
Genus:
Gentiana
Species:
prostrata
Synonyms

Chondrophylla nutans
Chondrophylla prostrata
Ciminalis prostrata
Gentiana nutans

Gentiana prostrata is a rare species of gentian known by the common name pygmy gentian.

It is native to Eurasia and to western North America from Alaska and northern Canada to Colorado and California. It is a resident of moist areas in the high mountains.

Description

This is an annual herb reaching only a few centimeters tall. The leaves are generally oval-shaped and up to about six millimeters long. They are green and sometimes edged in dull white. The solitary flower is about a centimeter wide at the mouth, with triangular or diamond-shaped lobes in shades of deep blue to purple. Between each lobe of the corolla is a sinus appendage with jagged, thready tips. The fruit is a capsule containing wingless seeds.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Gentiana prostrata para niños

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