Bottled Gentian

Have flatulence? Have a small paper cut? Drinking too much? Than Gentiana andrewsii, aka bottled gentian, might just be the pharmacy you're looking for. All parts of the plant, from the root to leaf can be used for a variety of aliments that plague us.

Being that it's the first week of the fall season I thought this plant might be a nice choice to start our week. Its fall color hurts the eyes - steeped in deep blues bordering on violet. You know the dog days of summer is giving way to the season of wither as you stroll through its favorite haunt - wet meadows - and you happen upon its hidden luster amongst goldenrod and aster.

Another name for this plant is "closed" gentian alluding to the fact that the plant never opens - only bees capable of force and fortitude can break into the corolla to reach its sweet nectar located deep within the base of the flower. Bumble bees are capable of picking this lock through sheer might and persistence. If that doesn't work than they cheat. How? - They cut a hole at the base of the flower petal, reach-in with their labium (bee-tongue), and steal the prize.

Any way you cut it, its flowering presence is a clear signal that the fall season is upon us!