Kendall County (IL) Forest Preserve District
Stiff
Gentian
(Agueweed)
Gentianella quinquefolia
[C-value
8]
Gentian family (Gentianaceae)
Blooms mid-September
-
mid-October
The native Stiff Gentian is a fine prairie heirloom, rare in our area, but is occasionally found in prairie remnants. It prefers full sun to light shade, moist to dry conditions, and a somewhat barren soil containing clay or rocky limestone material. It is an annual or biennial, branching, square-stemmed and ½–2' tall. Opposite leaves, up to 2½" long, occur along the stem, each pair rotating about 90° from the pair below. The stems terminate in clusters of 3-7 flowers. The flowers are stiffly erect, about ¾" long and ¼" across with a long tubular blue-violet, purple, or nearly white corolla and a short green calyx with 5 slender teeth. At its tip, the corolla has 5 triangular petals folding inward to form an almost closed point.
Stiff Gentian at Hoover Forest Preserve prairie September 28, 2014
Stiff Gentian at Hoover Forest Preserve prairie September 28, 2014
Stiff Gentian foliage at Hoover Forest Preserve prairie September 28, 2014
Stiff Gentian at Hoover Forest Preserve prairie September 28, 2014
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