Monument Plant in Bloom

One of my favorite native wildflowers of Colorado with a little insect friend. This is an amazing plant, learn all about it here ( http://www.swcoloradowildflowers.com/Brown Green Enlarged Photo Pages/frasera speciosa.htm ) . A few quick factoids to underscore that point (from the link above):

Dr. David Inouye at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in Gothic, Colorado indicates that Monument Plant flowers only once in its lifetime of 20 to 80 years and then dies. It is thus called a monocarpic plant, i.e., one which grows many years, flowers once, then dies. They can reach heights of over six feet!

Dr. Inouye's research also shows that large numbers of Monument Plants flower every 2-4 years. When such a coordinated flowering occurs, dozens, or even hundreds of plants flower within a small area (often a sunny, grassy hillside). The 2003 blooming season was the most spectacular in at least the past 40 years. The 2005 blooming season almost equaled the 2003 season.

From first hand experience I would agree that they were very good years for viewing this great plant. One place to see them is just south of Tie Siding Wyoming on a dirt road that heads to Cherokee Park Road in Colorado. Can't think of the name of it, but pull up a map and you will find it, or send me a message and I will look it up!

Mounument FlowerFrasera speciosaFlowersFlowerMacroColoradoRed FeatherNativeBiodiversityNikon4500I LOVE NATURE1on1FlowersNatureflora2006CLFF

From The Variety Collection