Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
blind gentian

blind gentian

9.9
A North American wildflower with tube-shaped blue, white, or purple flowers that stay mostly closed
  • noun
  • /blaɪnd ˈdʒɛnʃən/
  • US
translation icon : gentiana ciega
  • The blind gentian's flowers stay mostly closed, giving it a unique appearance among wildflowers.

Examples

  • Botanists studied how the blind gentian is pollinated despite its tubular, nearly closed blooms.

  • We spotted a cluster of blind gentian near the edge of the forest trail.

  • The blind gentian blooms in the forest.

  • Have you seen a blind gentian before?

  • The blind gentian is known for its striking, nearly closed flowers that attract curious nature lovers.

  • As we walked along the trail, we admired the blind gentian, its tubular flowers standing out among the other wildflowers.

  • During our hike, we encountered a beautiful patch of blind gentian, distinguished by its unique closed blooms.

Synonyms

Gentiana andrewsii
vsblind gentian
  • Specialized
9.9

A plant from eastern North America with blue or white tube-shaped flowers that stay mostly closed

is the common everyday name rather than the formal scientific term
bottle gentian
vsblind gentian
  • US
9.2

A plant from eastern North America with blue or white tube-shaped flowers that stay mostly closed

is used across North America rather than restricted to the east
closed gentian
vsblind gentian
  • US
9.9

A plant with blue or purple flowers shaped like a tube that stay mostly closed

is used when white flower varieties are also present

Surface Forms

blind gentian singular
blind gentians plural

Morphology

blind + gentian

The phrase is compositionally an adjective + noun indicating a type of gentian, so learners will understand it refers to a particular kind of gentian. However, the adjective 'blind' here has a specialized botanical sense (flowers that remain mostly closed) that is not the everyday meaning 'without sight', so the exact interpretation is not fully predictable to a B1 learner without domain knowledge.

Etymology

Blind gentian gets its name from how this wildflower's tube-shaped flowers stay mostly shut. The word blind gives the picture of a flower with 'closed' eyes, so the name tells you it is a gentian that stays 'closed' rather than opening fully.