In the area around the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory this
summer Frasera speciosa (monument plant, or green gentian; a
long-lived perennial monocarp; Gentianaceae) is exhibiting mast
flowering, for the first time since 2005. I'm curious how widespread
this flowering event is. I think that in some previous years good
flowering years covered much of Colorado and Utah. If you have seen
large numbers of flowering plants this summer, please let me
know. In our area it is quite spectacular, with many thousand (maybe
12-15,000) plants flowering in the East River valley, with flower
stalks about 5 feet tall. This species is monocarpic, with average
age at flowering probably about 30-40 years.
It also appears that this will be a big flowering year for Veratrum
tenuipetalum (V. californicum) (false skunk cabbage, or corn lily;
Melanthiaceae (formerly Liliaceae). This clonal polycarp flowers
infrequently; the last big year in this area was 1997. I'd also be
interested in observations of flowering in other parts of its range. Thanks.
David Inouye
University of Maryland
Rocky Mtn. Biological Laboratory
[email protected]
