Flower:

Blooms are singular on slender stalks at the end of the main stem and arising from leaf axils in the upper plant. The trumpet shaped, royal blue to blue-violet flowers are 1 to 2 inches long. with 4 rounded spatula shaped lobes that have short fringe or fine teeth around the edges. Inside the floral tube are 4 yellow to orangish stamens and a creamy white style.

The white and blue striped throat is enclosed by a green calyx with 4 unequal lobes, some round and tapered others narrower, lance-like or awl-shaped with a long taper to a pointed tip. The ridged midvein on the calyx lobes extends onto the stalk. A plant has 1 to 6 flowers, often only 1 blooming at a time.

Leaves and stem:

Leaves are 1 to 1½ inches long, ¼ to 1/3 inch wide, opposite, toothless, hairless, stalkless. Basal and lowest leaves are spatulate or elliptic with rounded tips, upper leaves narrow to linear lance shaped. The erect stems are slender and smooth, unbranched or a few branches narrowly angled to the main stem.

Fruit:

Fruit is a narrowly elliptic capsule up to about 1 inch long, containing many seeds.

Notes:

Very similar to Greater Fringed Gentian (Gentianopsis crinita), which is a larger plant overall with larger, broader leaves and longer fringing on the petal lobes. Lesser Fringed Gentian, formerly Gentiana procera or Gentianopsis procera, is easy to miss in the wild, as its often spindly, low to the ground and hidden in taller grasses. The spot of bright blue is an eye-catcher for those who are observant.