IX: Gentian
The intersection between gentian and Genji.
Good morning. Today is nonidi, the 19th of Thermidor, Year CCXXXI. We celebrate la gentiane, a shockingly blue trumpet-shaped flower.
💡
Gentian is a finicky flower that grows well enough wildly in alpine climates across the globe, but resists cultivation. The main reason people try to cultivate it is for the root, which, when dried, has bittering agents that are popular for use in tonic waters and aperitifs. It's the main ingredient in the bitters by both Angostura and Peychaud's.
There's no linguistic similarity between the Latin word "gentian" and the Japanese name "Genji," so it's a remarkable coincidence that the ancient Japanese clan bears a coat of arms of gentian and bamboo. The principle characters of the Tale of Genji, sometimes cited as the world's first recognizable novel (having been written a thousand years ago), are all members of a family created of castoffs from the imperial line of succession known as the Minamotos.
