Cusick’s swertia

Frasera cusickii A. Gray, Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 22: 310. 1887; F. caerulea Mulford; Leucocraspedum coeruleum (Mulford) Rydberg; Swertia albicaulis (Grisebach) D. Douglas ex Kuntze var. cusickii (A. Gray) J. S. Pringle; S. nitida (Bentham) Jepson subsp. cusickii (A. Gray) Abrams

Stems glabrous. Leaf blades glabrous or puberulent only near base and abaxially along midvein. Flowers: calyx glabrous; corolla greenish white or pale to med­ium blue, generally with dark blue to purple spots; corona scales ovate to elliptic, 2.5–3(–4.5) mm, margins entire or shallowly undulate-erose or toothed; rim of differentiated area on corolla surface fringed all around, fringes shorter near distal end.

Flowering early summer. Dry, rocky slopes, open pine woods; 800–2200 m; Idaho, Oreg.

Variety cusickii is endemic to the mountains of western Idaho and the Blue Mountains of eastern Oregon.