Gentiana verna

Gentian Gen"tian (j[e^]n"shan or j[e^]n"sh[i^]*an), n. [OE. genciane, F. gentiane, L. gentiana, fr. Gentius, an Illyrian king, said to have discovered its properties.] (Bot.) Any one of a genus ({Gentiana}) of herbaceous plants with opposite leaves and a tubular four- or five-lobed corolla, usually blue, but sometimes white, yellow, or red. See Illust. of {Capsule}. [1913 Webster]

Note: Many species are found on the highest mountains of Europe, Asia, and America, and some are prized for their beauty, as the Alpine ({Gentiana verna}, {Gentiana Bavarica}, and {Gentiana excisa}), and the American fringed gentians ({Gentiana crinita} and {Gentiana detonsa}). Several are used as tonics, especially the bitter roots of {Gentiana lutea}, the officinal gentian of the pharmacopoeias. [1913 Webster]

{Horse gentian}, fever root.

{Yellow gentian} (Bot.), the officinal gentian ({Gentiana lutea}). See {Bitterwort}. [1913 Webster]