Yellow Gentian

When we hear the name gentian, we usually think of beautiful, deep blue flowers that adorn our alpine meadows like small bells. The blue gentian is undoubtedly the epitome of the mountain flower. However, the medicinal plant gentian is of a very different kind. As its name suggests, its flowers are yellow, and with a height of up to 1.2 m, it is also a very stately plant.

The yellow gentian has oval leaves up to 30 cm long and 15 cm wide, with prominently raised veins. The leaves resemble those of the very poisonous white hellebore (Veratrum album), which can lead to dangerous confusions. However, due to the opposite leaf arrangement, gentian can be easily distinguished from hellebore, whose leaves are alternate. The upper leaves of the yellow gentian are curved like half-shells.

At first, these shells surround the stem and conceal the flower buds inside them. When the leaf shells open and lay horizontally, they release a large number of flowers. These have a form completely untypical for the gentian genus. The petals of other gentian species are fused from the base well beyond the middle, forming bell- or tube-shaped flowers.

The flowers of the yellow gentian, by contrast, are almost divided right down to the base. Furthermore, the petals are narrow and long, so that when fully open, they appear as separate, distinct elements rather than the typical gentian flower, and resemble five- to six-pointed stars. Since the inflorescence of the yellow gentian is also composed of numerous individual flowers looking in various directions, it appears very heterogeneous, if not chaotic. We clearly recognise that a strongly dividing essence has played a role in its formation. The leaves enveloping the stem with the flower buds inside can be regarded as a solid unit, within which – in the flowers – a dividing principle is at work.

This dividing power is also evident in the mighty roots. They can be described as many-headed, whereby the individual parts continually entwine with one another. An inward consideration of the essence of this plant reveals a kinship with the nature of the bovine. The cow is the animal whose essence is probably most strongly oriented towards digestion.

The cow is digestion made animal. The shape of the bovine is relatively block-like, and within this block acts the dividing force of digestion. Gentian can almost be described as a wonder remedy for the breakdown of indigestible cow’s milk products, such as warm dishes made from cheese like pizza, raclette or fondue. Gentian is probably the most potent medicinal plant for supporting digestion.