Gentianella diemensis aka Snowy Mountain Gentian

Gentianella diemensis is in the gentian family, called Gentianaceae. Kew lists Tasmania as its native range. It places the plant in subalpine or subarctic climates. Plants For A Future records it in swamps at high elevations. These records link it with cool, damp upland sites. The RHS confirms it is not native to Britain or Ireland. The RHS entry does not settle the status of its name.

Kew calls this plant a perennial, which lives for several years. Plants For A Future says it may also be an annual. An annual lives for just one year. The sources thus differ on how long each plant lives. Plants For A Future gives its height as about 1 foot [0.3 metres]. It gives no width or separate size range for garden plants. The supplied records do not describe its stems or leaves. They give no details of bark, branches, or overall shape. These gaps limit how well gardeners can identify it here.

Plants For A Future gives August to September as its bloom time. Each flower has both male and female organs. That source says bumblebees and butterflies pollinate the flowers. It gives no flower colour, shape, or scent. The supplied evidence says nothing about its fruit or seeds. The source gives no region for its bloom dates. These dates do not confirm when it flowers in Tasmania.

The species entry lists moist soil that drains well. It accepts sand, loam, and clay soils. Its listed soil pH spans mildly acid to mildly alkaline. It can grow in light shade or with no shade. Plants For A Future also lists beds where people grow plants as a setting. Yet it says we know very little about growing it. Its longer growing notes cover gentians as a group. Those notes do not prove what this species needs. Nor do they show how much cold it tolerates in Britain. The evidence supports no hardiness zone and gives no pest record.

Plants For A Future records no known use as food. It reports a traditional use of the root as a bitter digestive tonic. This does not prove that medical use is safe or works. The source lists no known hazards, but that does not prove safety. It records no other uses and flags no risk of becoming a weed. The supplied evidence names no diseases or specific landscape benefits.