Gentiana prostrata Calflora

Calflora, a 501c3 non-profit

Taxon Report

Gentiana prostrata Haenke

Pygmy gentian

2024 Erin Bergman

Gerald and Buff Corsi 2010 California Academy of Sciences

Gentiana prostrata is a perennial herb that is native to California, and also found elsewhere in North America and beyond.

California Rare Plant Rank: 2B.3 (rare, threatened, or endangered in CA; common elsewhere).


	Plant Range Observation Search ~19 records in California Plant Characteristics one or more occurrences within a 7.5-minute quadrangle

Bloom Period

Photos on Calflora


Genus:	Gentiana
Family:	Gentianaceae
Category:	angiosperm
PLANTS group:	Dicot
Jepson eFlora section: eudicot

Wetlands: Occurs usually in wetlands, occasionally in non wetlands

Habitat: meadows

Communities: Alpine Fell-fields

Name Status:
Accepted by JEF + CNPS + PLANTS + POWO

Alternate Names:


PLANTS	Chondrophylla nutans
PLANTS	Chondrophylla prostrata
PLANTS	Ciminalis prostrata
PLANTS	Gentiana nutans
PLANTS	Gentiana prostrata var. americana

Information about Gentiana prostrata from other sources


Nursery availability from CNPLX Commercial availability unknown. Jepson eFlora USDA PLANTS Profile (GEPR3) Photos on Calflora Photos on CalPhotos Google Images Photos on iNaturalist ID Tips on PlantID.net	ITIS Original Publication citation International Plants Names Index Search efloras.org (Flora of North America) Landscape information from Calscape BONAP Distribution Map CNPS Inventory: 2B.3 Consortium of California Herbaria 2 Search the Native American Ethnobotany Database	Add an Observation Location Suitability Planting Guide Distribution by County
[Wikipedia] Flower Information: Single blue flowers are borne at the end of erect stems, and close up when shaded or touched. (link added by Mary Ann Machi) photos / record / common / links io136749:!io136749:!null:!

Suggested Citation

Calflora: Information on California plants for education, research and conservation, with data contributed by public and private institutions and individuals. [web application]. 2025. The Calflora Database [a non-profit organization]. Available: https://www.calflora.org/ (Accessed: 05/23/2025).