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Gentianella nitida

Gentianella nitida
Photo: Paúl Gonzáles, CC BY 4.0

Gentianella nitida is a small herbaceous plant of the gentian family native to the high Andes of Peru, traditionally used as hercampuri in folk medicine. It is a wild Andean species rarely grown in home gardens, so care needs are only loosely established.

Family
Gentianaceae (Gentian family)
Light
Full sun
Water
Water moderately during the growing season and let the top of the soil dry slightly between waterings.
Soil
Well-drained, gritty or sandy loam with organic matter.
Temperature
Cool conditions suit it, roughly 5–18 °C; protect from heat and frost.
How easy
Hard
Native range
Peru
Climate
subalpine or subarctic

About

Gentianella nitida is a species of plant in the Gentianaceae family. It is one of two types of hercampuri, which is traditionally used in herbal medicine as an infusion, the other type of hercampuri being Gentianella alborosea. Gentianella nitida has been used in Peruvian folk medicine since before the time of the Incas. These small shrubs are native to the high Andes of Peru. The Junin Province is a region of Peru that grows hercampuri.

Other Gentianella plants

Gentianella alborosea · Agueweed · Dwarf gentian

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Gentianella nitida by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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