gentian

gen·tian   (jěn'shən)    n.   Any of numerous plants of the genus Gentiana, characteristically having showy, variously colored flowers. The dried rhizome and roots of a yellow-flowered European gentian, G. lutea, sometimes used as a tonic. [Middle English gencian, from Old French genciane, from Latin gentiāna, perhaps after Gentius, second-century B.C. king of Illyria.]

gentian 

Main Entry: gen·tian
Pronunciation: 'jen-ch&n
Function: noun
1 : any of two genera (Gentiana and Dasystephana) of herbsbelonging to a family (Gentianaceae, the gentian family) and having opposite smooth leaves and showy usually blue flowers
2 : the rhizome and roots of a yellow-flowered gentian(Gentiana lutea) of southern Europe that is used as a tonic and stomachic called also gentian root

gentian

(genus Gentiana), any of about 400 species of annual or perennial (rarely biennial) flowering plants of the family Gentianaceae distributed worldwide in temperate and alpine regions, especially in Europe and Asia, North and South America, and New Zealand. They are especially a notable feature of mountain regions, where the moisture-loving plants have access to underground water in summer and snow cover in winter. Gentian flowers are typically blue (hence "gentian blue") or purplish blue but may be purple, violet, mauve, yellow, white, or even red; the four or five petals are usually united into a trumpet, funnel, or bell shape. The flowers have been used in the making of dyes, especially Gentiana pneumonanthe, a source of blue dye. The tough fibrous roots were once used herbally for putative alimentary cures, and the name gentian derives from Gentius, king of ancient Illyria and alleged discoverer of the plant's medicinal value. Gentiana lutea, the yellow gentian, is found in Europe and western Asia and is the source of a flavouring in liqueurs.

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