"Schnellar" is how we call it, the blue stemless gentian. At the moment it is in full bloom everywhere on the mountain meadows.

It needs meager mountain meadows to grow. Therefore, it disappears visibly from the valleys, as the meadows there are excessively fertilized and cultivated.Pollination is carried out by wild bees and mainly by bumblebees. If the temperatures are very cold and the insects cannot fly, the gentian can also pollinate itself. To do this, it completely inverts its flowers to expose the fruiting bodies. The wind then blows the bolls to neighboring gentians and thus ensure fertilization. Very well known is also the gentian schnapps with its typical earthy taste.

Mistakenly, the blue stemless gentian is always depicted on the labels of the bottles.

The gentian schnapps is distilled exclusively from the roots of the yellow gentian. A stronghold for the gentian distillery is the Paznaun Valley. However, only a certain number of roots may be dug at a time.

The rights are divided among a few. Every year, these excavation rights are raffled among the entitled persons. The one who is drawn by lot will be excluded from the raffle in the following year so that everyone gets it once.

It is a science in itself and requires a lot of experience that so many roots are always taken away from each plant that it can continue to survive. Due to the low sugar content in the roots you need a corresponding amount to produce enough schnapps.

The genuine original distilled gentian schnapps is a rare rarity and all the more valuable. The gentian liquor that can be bought commercially is rather a synthethically produced product.

In Galtür in the Paznaun Valley, a trial field with yellow gentian was planted last year on a meadow. If the attempt succeeds, it is hoped to harvest individual roots of the yellow gentian in 4 to 5 years.