Plants 3-8 dm, often branched above; lvs sessile, lance-ovate to lanceolate or rarely lance-linear, broadly rounded at base, typically 3-6 נ1-2 cm; fls bright blue, solitary on peduncles 5-20 cm terminating the axis and lateral branches; cal 2.5-4 cm, cleft to the middle into acuminate lobes of very unequal width, smooth or nearly so; cor (3)4-5.5 cm, the obovate lobes deeply fringed around the summit and part way down the sides; 2n=78. Low woods, wet meadows, and brook-banks; s. Me. to Md. and locally along the mts. to Ga., w. to Man., S.D., and Io. Aug.-Oct. (Gentiana c.; Anthopogon c.)
Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.