What is "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.

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.

Horse gentian, fever root.

Yellow gentian (Bot.), the officinal gentian ( Gentiana lutea). See Bitterwort.

The spring gentian (Gentiana verna) is a species of the genus Gentiana and one of its smallest members, normally only growing to a height of a few centimetres.

The short stem supports up to three opposing pairs of elliptical or lanceolate leaves. The conspicuous vivid blue (sometimes purplish-red or rarely white) flowers are 1–2 cm in diameter, with a deeply five-lobed corolla; they are produced in late spring to early summer. The flowers attract butterflies and bees (particularly bumblebees) for pollination. Ants are responsible for the spreading of its seeds.