Gentiana burseri ssp burseri

Perennial of the Gentianaceae family, Gentiana burseri is a species of the Pyrenees and the mountains of the northern Iberian Peninsula, where it grows in alpine and subalpine meadows, grassy slopes, and rocky hollows, generally between 1,400 and 2,500 meters in altitude. It favors calcareous or basic substrates, fresh and well-drained, in full light.

Contrary to the usual image of low and bluish alpine gentians, this one is a tall plant, reaching 30 to 60 cm in height, upright and robust. Its leaves are broad, oval-lanceolate, with very marked parallel veins, a deep and shiny green, characteristic of the genus. They form a large basal rosette from which leafy stems arise bearing the flowers in whorls.

The flowers are pale yellow to creamy yellow, tubular, grouped in dense glomerules at the upper nodes of the stems. This sulfur yellow hue, unusual in the genus, immediately distinguishes it from all other gentians of the Pyrenees.

In its natural habitat, its flowering extends from June to August depending on the altitude.

In cultivation, it requires a deep, well-drained soil, fresh without excess stagnant moisture, preferably calcareous or neutral, in full sun. It adapts better than many alpine gentians to garden conditions, provided it is not transplanted too frequently.