Gentiana clusii is a large-flowered, short-stemmed gentian

Gentian

Gentiana is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the Gentian family , tribe Gentianeae and monophyletic subtribe Gentianinae. With about 400 species, it is considered a large genus.-Habitat:...

, which is very similar to G. acaulis

Gentiana acaulis

Gentiana acaulis is a small gentian native to central and southern Europe from Spain east to the Balkans, growing especially in mountainous regions, such as the Alps, Cevennes and the Pyrenees, at heights of 800 to 3,000 m....

. The two species differ in the presence (G. acaulis) or absence (G. clusii) of green stripes inside the corolla, by the shape of the corners between the petals (pointed in G. clusii, more rounded in G. acaulis), but mostly in their ecology

Ecology

Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...

, with G. clusii preferring limestone

Limestone

Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....

 areas, and G. acaulis being found over silicaceous rocks.

Like G. acaulis, G. clusii is found in the Pyrenees

Pyrenees

The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...

, Alps

Alps

The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....

, Apennine

Apennine mountains

The Apennines or Apennine Mountains or Greek oros but just as often used alone as a noun. The ancient Greeks and Romans typically but not always used "mountain" in the singular to mean one or a range; thus, "the Apennine mountain" refers to the entire chain and is translated "the Apennine...

s, Jura

Jura mountains

The Jura Mountains are a small mountain range located north of the Alps, separating the Rhine and Rhone rivers and forming part of the watershed of each...

, Black Forest

Black Forest

The Black Forest is a wooded mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany. It is bordered by the Rhine valley to the west and south. The highest peak is the Feldberg with an elevation of 1,493 metres ....

 and the Carpathians

Carpathian Mountains

The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians are a range of mountains forming an arc roughly long across Central and Eastern Europe, making them the second-longest mountain range in Europe...

.

G. clusii is named after Charles de l'Écluse

Charles de l'Écluse

Charles de l'Écluse, L'Escluse, or Carolus Clusius , seigneur de Watènes, was a Flemish doctor and pioneering botanist, perhaps the most influential of all 16th century scientific horticulturists....

(Carolus Clusius), one of the earliest botanists to study the alpine flora.