Hypertext Webster Gateway: "gentian"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Gentian \Gen"tian\, n. [OE. genciane, F. gentiane, L. gentiana,
fr. Gentius, an Illyrian king, said to have discovered its
properties.] (Bot.)
Any one of a genus ({Gentiana}) of herbaceous plants with
opposite leaves and a tubular four- or five-lobed corolla,
usually blue, but sometimes white, yellow, or red. See
Illust. of {Capsule}.
Note: Many species are found on the highest mountains of
Europe, Asia, and America, and some are prized for
their beauty, as the Alpine ({Gentiana verna},
{Bavarica}, and {excisa}), and the American fringed
gentians ({G. crinita} and {G. detonsa}). Several are
used as tonics, especially the bitter roots of
{Gentiana lutea}, the officinal gentian of the
pharmacop[oe]ias.
{Horse gentian}, fever root.
{Yellow gentian} (Bot.), the officinal gentian ({Gentiana
lutea}). See {Bitterwort}.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
gentian
n : any of various plants of the family Gentianaceae especially
the genera Gentiana and Gentianella and Gentianopsis
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