Gentiana andrewsii Griseb.
Prairie closed gentian, bottle gentian, closed bottle gentian
Bottle gentian is a North American native plant.
Plants: 1–2′ (30–60 cm) tall. One or more round, hairless stems emerge from the ground, green or purple.
Leaves: Opposite, sessile, lanceolate to ovate, up to 4½ ⨉ 2″ (11 ⨉ 5 cm). They are shiny, and have roughly parallel veins. At the top of the plant, the leaves form a whorl.
Flowers: Blue-violet (sometimes white, pale blue, or pink), and look like buds on the verge of opening, because they never fully open. Each flower is 1–1½″ (2.5–3.8 cm) tall and up to ½″ (1.3 cm) in diameter. They are often described as bottle-shaped, and appear from July to October.
Fruits: The fused flowers dry out, becoming a papery wrapper for a one-inch capsule with seeds.
Habitats: Moist woods, thickets, stream and pond edges.
Online References:
9/9/2013 · J. Harry Rich Forest, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 6 × 4″ (14 × 11 cm) 
9/9/2013 · J. Harry Rich Forest, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 9 × 6″ (22 × 15 cm) 
9/14/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts · ≈ 5 × 5″ (13 × 12 cm) 
ID is uncertain 
9/9/2013 · J. Harry Rich Forest, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 6 × 6″ (14 × 16 cm) 
9/14/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts · ≈ 9 × 6″ (23 × 15 cm) ID is uncertain 
9/24/2013 · Squannacook River Wildlife Area, Townsend, Massachusetts · ≈ 7 × 6″ (18 × 14 cm) ID is uncertain 
9/24/2013 · Squannacook River Wildlife Area, Townsend, Massachusetts · ≈ 7 × 6″ (17 × 15 cm) ID is uncertain 
9/9/2013 · J. Harry Rich Forest, Groton, Massachusetts · ≈ 6 × 4½″ (16 × 11 cm) 
9/24/2013 · Squannacook River Wildlife Area, Townsend, Massachusetts · ≈ 6 × 5″ (15 × 13 cm) ID is uncertain 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients |
| Division | Magnoliophyta | Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms |
| Class | Magnoliopsida | Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves |
| Subclass | Asteridae | A large class that encompasses asters |
| Order | Gentianales | Gentians, coffee, gardenias, frangipani, many others |
| Family | Gentianaceae | About 1600 species of flowering plants from the genus Gentiana, named after the Illyrian king Gentius |
| Genus | Gentiana | Named after Gentius, King of Illyria, who in the 2nd century B.C. found the roots of the herb yellow gentian or bitterwort to have a healing effect on his malaria-stricken troops |
| Species | andrewsii | After Henry Charles Andrews (fl. 1794–1830), English botanist, botanical artist, and engraver |
Gentiana andrewsii description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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