6. Eustoma Salisbury, Parad. Lond. 1: plate 34. 1806.
Catchfly- or bluebell- or prairie-gentian [Greek eu-, fine, and stoma, gap, alluding to showy, open-mouthed corolla]
James S. Pringle
Herbs annual, biennial, or short-lived perennial, chlorophyllous, glabrous. Leaves basal and cauline, opposite. Inflorescences open, proximally dichasial or completely monochasial cymes; flowers pedicellate. Flowers 5-merous; calyx lobed nearly to base; corolla widely campanulate, glabrous, lobes 2+ times as long as tube, margins entire or inconspicuously erose, plicae between lobes absent; stamens inserted near middle of corolla tube; anthers distinct; ovary sessile; style proximally persistent, erect, distinct; stigma 2-lobed; nectariferous ring at base of ovary. Capsules compressed ovoid-ellipsoid. x = 18.
Species 1: United States, Mexico, West Indies, Central America; introduced in n South America and Pacific Islands (Guam); temperate to tropical areas.
This showy-flowered genus is popular in horticulture, where it is often called lisianthus, that being an incorrect spelling of the name of a genus from which these plants have long been segregated. True Lisianthius P. Browne is a Central American and West Indian genus that is very different in appearance and doubtfully in cultivation.
SELECTED REFERENCES Parke, M. 1986. The new look of lisianthus. Horticulture (Boston) 64(3): 32–34. Shinners, L. H. 1957. Synopsis of the genus Eustoma (Gentianaceae). SouthW. Naturalist 2: 38–43.
