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Spurred Gentian
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Spurred Gentian
ative Photo: Thingnam Girija
Common name: Spurred Gentian • Nepali: टिक्टा Tikta
Botanical name: Halenia elliptica    Family: Gentianaceae (Gentian family)
Synonyms: Swertia peloris

Spurred Gentian is an erect hairless plant, growing to 2 ft tall, with 4-angled stem which are winged. Oppositely arranged narrow-elliptic leaves are stalkless, 2.5-5 cm long. Flowers are small, pale blue, easily identified by the 4 hort blue spurs projecting backwards and outwards beyond the sepals. Flowers arise in clusters of few flowers, in leaf axils and at the end of branches. Flowers are 8 mm across, bell-shaped, deeply 4-loved, with spurs up to 7 mm long. They have 4 ovate-lanceshaped sepals, and 4 stamens. Spurred Gentian is found in forests and open slopes of the Himalayas, from Kashmir to SW China, at altitudes of 1800-4500 m. Flowering: July-October.

Identification credit: Rajendra Kala Photographed in Valley of Flowers, Uttarakhand & Arunachal Pradesh.

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