Today I visited two prairies in Centre County. The main reason I went was to try to see some gentians in flower. I had seen these as dried stems for the first time last winter and was surprised to find them growing in dry soil, in areas transitioning from cedar woodland to little bluestem grassland.
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| Gentiana flavida (pale gentain) | | |
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I feel fairly confident in my identification of this plant as Gentiana flavida. The only other white flowered gentian that grows in PA is G. villosa (striped gentian). I don't think this is G. villosa because, the interior of the corolla is not purple striped. Also the leaves of G. flavida are reported to be yellow green and long acuminate, while G. villosa is dark green and oblanceolate. Again the G. flavida description fits. This is an important species for me to identify with certainty as G. flavida is reported as extirpated in Pennsylvania. For this reason I contacted a more experienced botanist, Harry Henderson, to get a second opinion.
Last winter, when I first saw these plants, a large seed crop was apparent. This year may be different as it took me a while before I could find a flowering individual. The deer had nipped the tops of hundreds of these plants. It remains to be seen whether this will just delay their flowering or prevent it entirely this season. Apart from the excessive deer herbivory, the population in the area is fairly extensive (for a uncommon plant), probably numbering around several hundred individuals.
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| A dissected flower showing the form of the plaits (the fringed areas) and lobes (the taller pionted parts) of the corolla. |
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| A photo showing G. flavida's yellow-green, lance-acuminate leaves. | |
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