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Botanical Family · Gentianales

Gentianaceae

Gentian family

23 speciesOrder Gentianales8+ well-known plants

Herbs and shrubs with bitter compounds (used medicinally). Flowers usually 5-merous with fused petals. Includes gentians and chirayata (Swertia).

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Representative GENTIANACEAE specimen
Representative specimen · Gentianaceae
Key pattern

Opposite, untoothed leaves on herbs that store intensely bitter compounds throughout their tissue; regular, five-parted flowers fuse their petals into a tube that twists slightly in bud, opening to reveal a two-chambered capsule.

The bitter iridoid compounds that give the family its reputation are the basis of herbal 'bitters' tonics and traditional fever remedies such as chirayata (Swertia).

Identify the species

Which Gentianaceae species is this?

Answer what you can see and narrow it down to a single Gentianaceae species.

Click a node to trace its path · pinch or scroll to zoom · drag to pan
Flower ColorWhat color are the flowers?
Bicolor (two distinct colors)
Blue
Purple/violet
White
Flower SizeHow large are the flowers?
Notably large and showy
Small and inconspicuous
HabitWhat is the plant's growth habit?
Small erect herb
Succulent
Leaf AttachmentHow do the leaves attach to the stem?
Normal stalked/sessile leaves
Perfoliate (the stem appears to pass straight through the leaf blade)
HabitWhat is the plant's growth habit?
Herb
Small erect herb
Spreading/dichotomously-branched herb
Leaf AttachmentHow do the leaves attach to the stem?
Normal stalked/sessile leaves
Perfoliate (the stem appears to pass straight through the leaf blade)

How to recognise the Gentianaceae family

  • 01

    Leaf arrangement: opposite

  • 02

    Leaf type: simple

  • 03

    Growth forms: herb/shrub

  • 04

    Inflorescence: cymose/solitary

  • 05

    Fruit: capsule

Typical leaf characters

  • ArrangementVariable
  • Simple type leaf characterTypeSimple
  • MarginVariable
  • VenationVariable

Characters typical of the family — individual species can vary.

Typical flower & fruit

Typical of the family — flowering plants only; species can vary.

Notable members

CanscoraCanscora decussataDevendra's CanscoraCanscora devendraeSpreading CanscoraCanscora diffusaStalkless CanscoraCanscora heteroclitaPierced Leaf CanscoraCanscora perfoliataLesser CentauryCentaurium meyeriIndian WhiteheadEnicostema axillareBicolor Persian VioletExacum bicolor

All 23 species in GENTIANACEAE

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