10 francs - Gentian

Each year, the unique Alpine flora attracts countless visitors to the mountains. The mountain spring is particularly impressive. While the last snowfields gradually melt away, plants are blossoming and sprouting wherever you look. Particularly eye-catching in this display of colour is the deep blue of the gentian. Together with the edelweiss and Alpine rose, it is one of the most popular Alpine flowers. This is commonly understood to mean the "stemless gentian", of which there are several subspecies. The most well known are the frequently occurring species Clusius' gentian (gentiana clusii or limestone gentian) and Koch's gentian (gentian acaulis or silicaceous gentian). Gentian is a plant species from the gentian family (gentianaceae). The 300 to 400 plant species which are found almost all over the world are predominantly indigenous to the temperate climate zones of the northern hemisphere and also the Andes.