Gentian plants are very rare in Finland and form their own family, but there are around 90 genera worldwide comprising 1,500 species. In Finland there are 3 genera and 8 species, all of them herb-stemmed flowering plants. The family is also represented around the world by trees, bushes and dwarf shrubs. In Finland the best known members of the family are members of genus Centaurium (in the south) and genera Gentiana and Gentianella (in the north).