Autumn Gentian, Felwort - Gentianella amarella

This flower is Autumn Gentian, aka Felwort (Gentianella amarella)

OK, so this is not the most artistic of images but it means a lot to me. It typifies the flora of the Sussex downland in autumn when I visit my mother each mid-October. Last year there were a lot of options when choosing a suitable specimen to photograph, but this year virtually all plants were already in seed. There was however one spike still in bud and this solitary open bloom on a different plant.

Another flower that means much the same to me is the little pink Centaury and there is a lot of that still blooming so I may take a blip of that tomorrow. Another flower that was in bloom this time last year was the dropwort, but not a single specimen has been encountered this year.