Big-Leaf Maple vs Closed Gentian

Acer macrophyllum compared with Gentiana rubricaulis

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Big-Leaf Maple	Closed Gentian
Kingdom same	Plantae (Plants)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum same	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class same	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Sapindales (Sapindales)	Gentianales (Gentianales)
Family	Sapindaceae	Gentianaceae
Genus	Acer	Gentiana
Species	Acer macrophyllum	Gentiana rubricaulis

Evolutionary Relationship

Big-Leaf Maple and Closed Gentian share a common ancestor at the Class level: Magnoliopsida. (Dicots)

Conservation Status

Big-Leaf Maple

LC — Least Concern

Closed Gentian

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Big-Leaf Maple	Closed Gentian
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Big-Leaf Maple

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Canada, Ireland, and United States.

Closed Gentian

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Distributed across Canada and United States.

Big-Leaf Maple

The Big-Leaf Maple (Acer macrophyllum) is a species in the genus Acer. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Closed Gentian

The closed gentian or bottle gentian (Gentiana andrewsii) is a striking herbaceous perennial in the family Gentianaceae native to eastern and central North America, found from Quebec and New England west to Nebraska and south to Georgia. Unlike most gentians, the deep violet-blue flowers of this species remain permanently closed — the petals fused into a bottle-like shape through which only strong bumblebees, primarily Bombus species, can force entry to access nectar and pollen, making it a specialist of bumblebee pollination. Plants grow 30–60 cm tall in moist prairies, wet meadows, fens, stream banks, and open woodland edges, flowering in late summer and autumn when few other wildflowers are in bloom. The closed flower form prevents small insects from accessing floral rewards while selecting for robust, strong-flying pollinators capable of forcing the petals apart. Closed gentian is declining across its range due to loss of moist prairie and fen habitats, wetland drainage, invasive species competition, and the regional decline of specialist bumblebee pollinators, with which its reproductive success is closely linked.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 2 countries:

🇨🇦 Canada 🇺🇸 United States