Gentian

This plant has been recognised as the source of a valuable drug since the time of the ancient Egyptians, for there are records of it on. a papyrus found between the bones of a mummy at Thebes, and it was also probably one of the sacrificial herbs which were buried with Egyptians of high rank. Since those far-off days it has been used by the Romans, by the monks of our own islands, and throughout the centuries, has been included contin­ually in the editions of the British Pharmacopoeia.

Several species of Gentian are found in the British Isles, all rather rare; the Meadow Gentian is the one most frequently met with, growing usually on limestone and often near the sea. It is a small plant, 4 to 10 inches high, with an erect stem, sharply pointed, deep-green leaves, and tubular flowers of four petals of a pale purplish-blue, scattered along the stalks.

The old name Gentian was given it in early Grecian times in honour of a King Gentius, who experimented with herbs. There are many varieties of garden Gentians, most of them of the mar­vellous blue of the summer sky, though Gentiana lutea, a largeAlpine variety, is of soft bright yellow.

As a rule, unfortunately, Gentians are not very easy to establish in gardens.

The Gentian is an annual, and its root (the part required for medicine) is small and short. It has a very bitter flavour, which at once associates it with tonic drugs. Flower-lovers will be glad to know that nearly all the supplies of the drug come from the Yellow Gentian, which grows abundantly in various mountaino­us parts of Europe, so there is little fear that our own sparsely scattered Gentians will be eradicated.