Eustoma is a genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 of 3 species in the family Gentianaceae

Gentianaceae

Gentianaceae are a family of flowering plants of 87 genera and over 1500 species. Flowers are actinomorphic and bisexual with fused sepals and petals. The stamens are attached to the inside of the petals and alternate with the corolla lobes. There is a glandular disk at the base of the gynoecium,...

, found in warm regions of the Southern United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

, Caribbean

Caribbean

The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...

 and northern South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

. They are mostly found growing in grassland

Grassland

Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants . However, sedge and rush families can also be found. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica...

 and areas of disturbed ground.

They are herbaceous

Herbaceous

A herbaceous plant is a plant that has leaves and stems that die down at the end of the growing season to the soil level. They have no persistent woody stem above ground...

 annual

Annual plant

An annual plant is a plant that usually germinates, flowers, and dies in a year or season. True annuals will only live longer than a year if they are prevented from setting seed...

s, growing to 15 – 60 cm tall, with bluish green, slightly succulent leaves

Leaf

A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....

, and large funnel shaped flowers growing on long straight stems.

Eustoma russellianum

Eustoma russellianum

Eustoma russellianum, is a species of flowering plant in the Gentian family. Its previous binomial name was Eustoma grandiflorum . Common names include Texas bluebells, Texas bluebell, Bluebell, Showy prairie gentian, Prairie gentian The Bolero Deep Blue, and Lisianthus.-Description:Eustoma...

is particularly popular and has a number of cultivar

Cultivar

A cultivar'Cultivar has two meanings as explained under Formal definition. When used in reference to a taxon, the word does not apply to an individual plant but to all those plants sharing the unique characteristics that define the cultivar. is a plant or group of plants selected for desirable...

s that are grown for the cut flower market. The cultivated flower is also often known as Lisianthus, Texas Bluebell, Prairie Gentian (ITIS), Tulip Gentian or just Gentian, although the latter can cause confusion with the related Gentian

Gentian

Gentiana is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the Gentian family , tribe Gentianeae and monophyletic subtribe Gentianinae. With about 400 species, it is considered a large genus.-Habitat:...

plant genus.