''Frasera albomarginata'' ( syn. ''Swertia albomarginata'') is a species of flowering plant in the

gentian family Gentianaceae is a family of flowering plants of 105 genera and about 1600 species. Etymology The family takes its name from the genus ''Gentiana'', named after the Illyrian king Gentius. Distribution Distribution is cosmopolitan. Characteristi ...

known by the common name desert green gentian, or desert frasera. It is native to the southwestern United States from easternmost

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

and

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

, where it grows in open, dry areas, such as desert woodlands and grasslands.

Description

''Frasera albomarginata'' is a perennial herb producing one or more stems up to 30 to 60 centimeters tall. The leaves are green with distinct white margins. The basal leaves are lance-shaped, up to 9 centimeters long by one wide. Leaves higher on the plant are smaller and narrower and are borne in whorls or opposite pairs. The

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

is an open

panicle In botany, a panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a p ...

of flowers at the top of the stem. Each flower has a corolla of four pointed lobes which are greenish white, darker green at the tips, with purple speckles. There are four

stamen The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

s tipped with large anthers and a central

ovary The ovary () is a gonad in the female reproductive system that produces ova; when released, an ovum travels through the fallopian tube/ oviduct into the uterus. There is an ovary on the left and the right side of the body. The ovaries are end ...

. Flowers bloom April to August.

References

External links

Jepson Manual TreatmentPhoto gallery
albomarginata Flora of the Southwestern United States Flora of Colorado Flora of New Mexico {{Gentianales-stub