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Frasera speciosa

Common name:	Green Gentian	Family:	Gentianaceae
Author:	Douglas.	Botanical references:	71, 200
Synonyms:	Swertia radiata (Kuntze.)
Known Hazards:	When used medicinally, large doses of the powdered root have proved fatal[155].
Range:	Western N. America - California to Washington.
Habitat:	Dryish or dampish places[71]. Rich soils in open pine woods, aspen groves etc, 1500 - 3000 metres[155].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	1	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	F. angustifolia[B,P] F. macrophylla[B,P] F. speciosa var. angustifolia[B,P] F. speciosa var. stenosepala[B,P] F. stenosepala[B,P] Swertia radiata var. macrophylla[B,P] Tesseranthium angustifolium[B,P] Tesseranthium macrophyllum[B,P] Tesseranthium radiatum[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Cebadilla [S], Frasera Speciosa [S], Gentian, Green [S], Green Gentian [S], Green Gentian, Cebadilla [S], Green Gentian, Monument Plant, Cebadilla [S], Green Gentian, Sebadilla , Monument Plant [S], Monument Plant [S], Monument-plant [B], Showy Frasera [P],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	speciosa = showy;
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Gentianales. Gentian family

Physical Characteristics

Biennial/Perennial growing to 1.5m. It is hardy to zone 3. It is in flower from July to August. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs). We rate it 1/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid and neutral soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge.

Edible Uses

Root.

Root[105, 106, 155, 161]. It has been reported that the N. American Indians ate the fleshy root of this plant, but caution is advised since the roots of closely related plants are used medicinally as emetics and cathartics[212]. See the notes above on toxicity.

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Contraceptive; Febrifuge; Laxative; Stomachic; Tonic.

The whole plant is febrifuge, pectoral, laxative and tonic[155, 257]. An infusion of the dried, powdered leaves, or the root, has been used in the treatment of diarrhoea[257]. A cooled decoction of the roots has been used in the treatment of asthma, colds, digestive complaints etc[257].
An infusion of the plant has been used as a contraceptive[213].
Caution is advised in the use of this plant, see the notes above on toxicity.

Other Uses

Parasiticide.

The root, when ground into a powder and then mixed with oil, has been used as a parasiticide in order to kill lice[155].

Cultivation details

Requires a moist but well-drained position and a stony peaty soil[1, 200]. Requires an acidic soil[200].
A very ornamental plant[1].

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in a greenhouse[200]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Division in late winter[200].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[V] Images from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A&M Bioinformatics Working Group.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Swertia radiata (a possible synonym).

[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[S] SW USA Dist. Maps from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
Images from the CalPhoto database.
[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine

References for the family Gentianaceae.

[CHINA] Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[71] Munz. A California Flora. University of California Press 1959
An excellent flora but no pictures. Not for the casual reader.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[106] Coon. N. The Dictionary of Useful Plants. Rodale Press 1975 ISBN 0-87857-090-x
Interesting reading but short on detail.

[155] Arnberger. L. P. Flowers of the Southwest Mountains. Southwestern Monuments Ass. 1968
A lovely little pocket guide to wild plants in the southern Rockies of America.

[161] Yanovsky. E. Food Plants of the N. American Indians. Publication no. 237. U.S. Depf of Agriculture.
A comprehensive but very terse guide. Not for the casual reader.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[212] Craighead. J., Craighead. F. and Davis. R. A Field Guide to Rocky Mountain Wildflowers The Riverside Press 1963 ISBN 63-7093
Excellent little pocket guide to the area, covering 590 species and often giving details of their uses.

[213] Weiner. M. A. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books 1980 ISBN 0-449-90589-6
A nice book to read though it is difficult to look up individual plants since the book is divided into separate sections dealing with the different medicinal uses plus a section on edible plants. Common names are used instead of botanical.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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