Scientific name: Gentianella amarella (L.) Boerner
Common name: Autumn Gentian
Description
Habit: A hairless annual or biennial, to 30 cm high.
Stems: Erect.
Leaves: Undivided, stalkless, entire and oval-lanceolate.
Flowers: Blueish-purple, actinomorphic, hermaphrodite, about 10 mm across; calyx a tube with 5 equal-sized, narrowly lanceolate lobes; corolla fused forming a tube with 5 lobes, lobes with short hairs at the throat; stamens attached to the corolla and alternate with the corolla lobes; ovary superior.
Fruits: A capsule, cylindrical and narrow, with small seeds.
Habitat: Stabilised dunes and dry calcareous pastures.Distribution: Occasional, mainly around Galway Bay.
Native status: Native
Of conservation interest: Yes