Northern spurred gentian, halénie défléchie

Swertia deflexa Smith in A. Rees, Cycl. 34(II): Swertia no. 8. 1816; Halenia deflexa subsp. brentoniana (Grisebach) J. M. Gillett; H. deflexa var. brentoniana (Grisebach) A. Gray

Herbs annual (rosettes some­times appearing in fall the year before flowering), 0.2–9 dm. Stems usually 1, erect, simple or short-branched. Leaves: basal and proximal cauline leaves sometimes ± petio­late; basal blades spatulate to elliptic; cauline blades elliptic (proximal) to ovate or lanceolate (distal), 1–7 cm × 5–30(–40) mm. Inflorescences 1–75-flowered cymes or thyrses of umbelloid clusters, often with smaller inflorescences on branches. Flowers: calyx 4–8 mm, lobes lanceolate to narrowly ovate with narrowed base, apex acuminate; corolla pale green to violet, 8–15 mm, lobes ovate, apex acute to acuminate, spurs proximally divergent at ca. 45°, 3–5 mm, distally ± upcurved or occasionally reduced or absent on flowers on lowest branches, or in stressed environments on most or all flowers. 2n = 22.

Flowering summer–early fall. Damp woods, white-cedar swamps, rail edges, shaded stream banks and lakeshores, usually in sandy, calcareous soils, also in rocky or sandy sites near the sea; 0–2000 m; St. Pierre and Miquelon; Alta., B.C., N.B., Nfld. and Labr., N.W.T., N.S., Ont., Que., Sask.; Maine, Mass., Mich., Minn., Mont., N.H., N.Y., N.Dak., S.Dak., Vt., Wis., Wyo.

Mexican plants formerly included in Halenia deflexa have been excluded from this species by R. L. Wilbur (1984).

Plants 0.2–1.5 dm, with densely spaced leaves and relatively small corollas deep violet throughout or with the lobes greenish only toward the apex, occurring in damp to wet, exposed, rocky or sandy sites near the sea in St. Pierre and Miquelon, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Quebec, have been called var. brentoniana or subsp. brentoniana but probably represent a phenotypic response to cold, exposed hab­itats. Intergradation between such plants and larger plants in less extreme habitats is extensive.