Frasera albomarginata

Frasera albomarginata (syn. Swertia albomarginata) is a species of flowering plant in the gentian family known by the common name desert green gentian, or desert frasera.

Frasera albomarginata
Conservation status
Secure  (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Gentianales
Family:	Gentianaceae
Genus:	Frasera
Species:	F. albomarginata
Binomial name
Frasera albomarginata S.Watson
Varieties[2]
Frasera albomarginata var. albomarginata Frasera albomarginata var. purpusii Jeps.
Synonyms[2]
List Leucocraspedum albomarginatum (S.Watson) Rydb. (1917) Swertia albomarginata (S.Watson) Kuntze (1891)

It is native to the southwestern United States from easternmost California to Colorado and New Mexico, where it grows in open, dry areas, such as desert woodlands and grasslands.^[3]

Description

Frasera albomarginata is a perennial herb producing one or more stems up to 30 to 60 centimeters tall. The leaves are green with distinct white margins. The basal leaves are lance-shaped, up to 9 centimeters long by one wide. Leaves higher on the plant are smaller and narrower and are borne in whorls or opposite pairs.

The inflorescence is an open panicle of flowers at the top of the stem. Each flower has a corolla of four pointed lobes which are greenish white, darker green at the tips, with purple speckles. There are four stamens tipped with large anthers and a central ovary. Flowers bloom April to August.^[3]