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Generative propagation of Gentiana latea is inhibited by great variability and conventional vegetative propagation is not possible. Micropropagation, as successfully used for other species (1, 2), encourages selection strategies by overcoming these problems.Meristem tips (apex and 1-4 primordia, 0.2-0.4mm), axillary buds (0.3-0.6mm), and shoot tips (1.5-6mm) were surface disinfected in 5% NaOC1 for 45 mm, and transferred to a modified Murashige and Skoog's medium (3) containing 0.5 mg/i BAP. 93% of the explants were free of microbial contaminations. Frequency of contamination was not related to initial size or position.Shoots were cultured on MS media supplemented with different cytokinins. Shoot formation was hardly observed at low cytokinin levels (1.2 mg/I). Less shoots also occurred on MS media containing kinetin or 2iP. Addition of 4mg/I BAP, PBA, or zeatin resulted in good shoot development. By subculturing, shoots proliferated optimally in the presence of 3mg/i BAP. MS media containing IBA or NAA (0.3-0.5mg/i) induced a high level (40-80%) of rooting, whereas poor rooting was observed on media containing IAA (0.5-2 mg/l). Rooting ability was not affected by adding BAP or PBA (0.01 mg/l) to the rooting medium, but shoots were dark green. Plantlets showed only 25-40% survival on transfer to soil.The possibility of propagating Gentiana lutea by shoot tip culture was investigated. Results indicate that in vitro propagation is an effective way for rapid establishment of desirable lines of this species for commercial use.