Gentianopsis crinita (sometimes called "Fringed Gentian" or "Blue Gentian") is a biennial herbaceous species, native to eastern USA and eastern Canada. Fringed gentian flowers open on sunny days, but generally remain closed on cloudy days. Individual plants live for only one or two years.
In autumn, solitary, iridescent blue flowers develop on naked peduncles approximately 2 to 10 cm in height. Each finely fringed petal is 3.5 to 6 cm in length. The outermost flower parts are two pairs of green sepals, strongly winged and flared on the basal margins, the outer pair much larger than the inner.