Swertia nervosa Wall.

Species

Angiosperms > Gentianales > Gentianaceae > Swertia

Characteristics

Annuals 30-100 cm tall. Roots yellow-brown, fibrous. Stems erect, 2-5 mm in diam., subquadrangular, narrowly winged on angles, branched. Leaves sessile or subsessile, lanceolate, narrowly elliptic, or elliptic, 1.6-7.5 × 0.4-2.3 cm, both ends attenuate, veins 1-3. Inflorescences panicles of cymes, spreading branched, many flowered. Flowers 4merous. Pedicel erect, 0.5-2 cm. Calyx tube 1-2 mm; lobes free, foliose, linear-lanceolate, 0.8-1.7 cm, apex acuminate, veins 3 and prominent. Corolla pale yellow-green, with purple veins, 1.5-1.8 cm in diam., tube 1-2 mm; lobes linear-lanceolate, 6-8 mm, apex obtuse and apiculate. Nectaries 1 per corolla lobe, pocket-shaped, with an orbicular scale, and many papillose, short fimbriae at apex of pocket. Filaments 4.5-6 mm; anthers yellow, ellipsoid, ca. 2 mm. Style short, distinct; stigma lobes capitate. Capsules ovoid, 6-8 mm. Seeds dark brown, ellipsoid, ca. 0.6 mm; seed coat spongy. Fl. and fr. Sep-Dec.
Life form annual
Growth form herb
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention deciduous
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 0.4 - 0.75
Root system fibrous-root
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color -
Blooming months -
Fruit color -
Fruiting months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

Open slopes, cultivated ground, beside streams, hillsides, scrub, scattered forests; at elevations from 400-3,000 metres.
Light -
Soil humidity -
Soil texture -
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) -

Usage

Uses medicinal
Edible -
Therapeutic use Antipyretics (aerial part), Fever (whole plant), Malaria (whole plant)
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Can be grown by seedlings.
Mode seedlings
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Distribution

Swertia nervosa world distribution map, present in China

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:370998-1
WFO ID wfo-0001063872
COL ID 7B64T
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN)
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Ophelia nervosa Agathotes nervosa Swertia cavaleriei Swertia nervosa