Gentiana is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the gentian family (Gentianaceae), the tribe Gentianeae, and the monophyletic subtribe Gentianinae. With about 400 species, it is considered a large genus. Gentians are notable for their mostly large trumpet-shaped flowers, which are often of an intense blue hue. The genus name is a tribute to Gentius, an Illyrian king who may have discovered tonic properties in gentians. Gentian root is a common beverage flavouring for bitters. The gentian flower was used as the emblem of the Minamoto clan, one of the four great clans that dominated Japanese politics during the Heian period and went on to establish the first Shogunate in the aftermath of the Genpei War. Gentiana decumbens (or Dasystephana decumbens) growing in mountains and lowland steppes of Mongolia and Russia.
