Perennials. Roots fleshy, usually several contiguous and twisted into a cylindric stout structure. Stems branching monopodially; caudex covered with conspicuously fibrous remains of leaf bases. Basal leaves large, forming a well-developed rosette. Seed coat minutely reticulate (thick reticulate in Gentiana olivieri).

Twenty-one species: Asia, Europe; 19 species in China.