Narrow-leaved Gentian

Gentiana linearis

Pollinator Value

❄️ Winter Food Source: Seeds consumed at genus level by Lapland Longspur (Calcariidae) and White-tailed Ptarmigan (Phasianidae). Capsules may persist into early winter providing a minor seed resource for ground-foraging birds.
S57

Proximity Score: 0
Native Status: ✅ Outaouais ❌ Ottawa ✅ QC ✅ ON
Closest Direction: Local
CEC Eco-Regions: 5 – Northern Forests, 5.2 – Mixed Wood Shield, 5.2.3 – Algonquin/Southern Laurentians
Rarity Notes: Globally ranked G4. Nationally N5 in Canada. Secure in Quebec (S5) and apparently secure in Ontario (S4). Not listed under SARA. Extirpated from New Jersey. A boreal species reaching its southern limit in the Appalachian mountains.
S22 S26 S6
Rarity Ranks: QC S5 – Secure, ON S4 – Apparently Secure
Migration: Stable
Ecological Context: A boreal-affinity perennial herb of open wetlands. Typical habitats include bogs, fens, wet meadows, shores, and floodplains on strongly acid soils. In the Outaouais, herbarium specimens document it in moist meadows, bog edges, and damp roadsides in the Laurentian Highlands, particularly around Nominingue and Parc Papineau-Labelle. Associates include Calamagrostis canadensis, Carex stricta, Myrica gale, Sphagnum spp., and Chamaedaphne calyculata.
S6 S7 S48 S61

Roles: Fortress/Barrier, Pollinator Attractor
S73/S29/S72 Evidence: Fortress/Barrier: S61 keyword match: thorns? (supporting signal only)] | Pollinator Attractor: S73 [MEDIUM]: S68 4 bee associations (threshold=3)]

Category: Tonic
S61 roots used to make a tonic
Notes: The Dakota and Winnebago peoples used the roots of narrow-leaved gentian to prepare a tonic. No records in Moerman NAEB database under this species name; the Go Botany ethnobotanical note is the sole documented reference.
S61 S28

❌ Not Edible