GENTIANS
Noun
gentians
plural of gentian
Anagrams
• antigens, steaning
Source: Wiktionary
GENTIAN
Gen"tian, n. Etym: [OE. genciane, F. gentiane, L. gentiana, fr.
Gentius, an Illyrian king, said to have discovered its properties.]
(Bot.)
Definition: Any one of a genus (Gentiana) of herbaceous plants with
opposite leaves and a tubular four- or five-lobed corolla, usually
blue, but sometimes white, yellow, or red. See Illust. of Capsule.
Note: Many species are found on the highest mountains of Europe,
Asia, and America, and some are prized for their beauty, as the
Alpine (Gentiana verna, Bavarica, and excisa), and the American
fringed gentians (G. crinita and G. detonsa). Several are used as
tonics, especially the bitter roots of Gentiana lutea, the officinal
gentian of the pharmacopoeias. Horse gentian, fever root.
– Yellow gentian (Bot.), the officinal gentian (Gentiana lutea).
See Bitterwort.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition