Frasera speciosa
| Frasera speciosa | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Asterids |
| Order: | Gentianales |
| Family: | Gentianaceae |
| Genus: | Frasera |
| Species: | F. speciosa |
| Binomial name | |
| Frasera speciosa Douglas ex Griseb. | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Frasera speciosa is a species of flowering plant in the Gentian Family (Gentianaceae) known by the common names elkweed, deer's ears, and monument plant.[1]
Range and habitat
It is native to the western United States, where it grows in mountain forests, woodlands, and meadows.
Description
Growth pattern
It is a perennial herb growing from a woody base surrounded by rosettes of large leaves that measure up to 50 centimeters long by 15 wide.
Stems and leaves
It produces a single erect stem which can reach two meters in height.
Inflorescense and fruit
The stem bears whorls of lance-shaped, pointed leaves smaller than those at the base. The plant is monocarpic, growing for several years and only flowering once before it dies.[2] Flowering is synchronized among plants in a given area, with widespread, picturesque blooms occurring periodically.[3] It is not known why some plants in an area will not flower in a mass flowering event, or what cues the plants rely on to initiate flowering. The inflorescence is a tall, erect panicle with flowers densely clustered at the top and then spread out in interrupted clusters below. Each flower has a calyx of four pointed sepals and a corolla of four pointed lobes each one to two centimeters long. The corolla is yellow-green with purple spots and each lobe has two fringed nectary pits at the base. There are four stamens tipped with large anthers and a central ovary.
It blooms from July to August.[1]
Uses and ecological interaction
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Frasera speciosa. |
References
- 1 2 Sierra Nevada Wildflowers, Karen Wiese, 2013, p. 196
- ↑ Weid, A. and C. Galen. (1998). Plant parental care: Conspecific nurse effects in Frasera speciosa and Cirsium scopulorum. Ecology 79 1657–1668.
- ↑ Taylor, O. R. and D. W. Inouye. (1985). Synchrony and periodicity of flowering in Frasera speciosa (Gentianaceae). Ecology 66 521–527.