Frasera speciosa
monument plant
Overview
Frasera speciosa is a monocarpic perennial in the gentian family that grows for many years as a low basal rosette, then sends up a single stout flowering stalk 3-6 feet (0.9-1.8 m) tall before setting seed and dying. The lance-shaped leaves are arranged in whorls up the stem, longest at the base and shrinking upward. The flowering stalk carries hundreds of star-shaped greenish-white flowers about 1 inch (2.5 cm) across, each of the four petals streaked with purple and bearing two fringed nectar glands. Flowering occurs in summer, typically once in a plant's life after eight or more years as a rosette. It is native to the mountains of the western United States and northern Mexico, growing in meadows, open woodland, and sagebrush slopes at moderate to high elevations. Because each plant flowers only once and then dies, a planting depends on a population of rosettes of mixed ages to bloom in successive years.
Native Range
Frasera speciosa is native to the mountainous interior of western North America, from Washington and Montana south through the Rocky Mountains and Great Basin ranges to Arizona, New Mexico, and northern Mexico. It grows from montane meadows to subalpine slopes.Suggested Uses
Grown in native plant and montane meadow plantings and naturalistic gardens at higher elevations. The tall flower stalks rise above surrounding grasses and forbs in summer. A mix of rosette ages is grown so that some plants bloom each year.How to Identify
Appearance
Size & Dimensions
Height3' - 6'
Width/Spread1' - 2'
Bloom Information
The greenish-white flowers open in summer, roughly June to August depending on elevation, on a stalk that develops only once in the plant's life. Bloom lasts several weeks as flowers open from the bottom of the spike upward. After seed sets the entire plant dies.
Detailed Descriptions
Flower Description
greenish-white with purple streaksFoliage Description
greenGrowing Conditions
Sun Requirements
Requires 6-10 hours of direct sunlight daily
• Full Sun: 6+ hours of direct sunlight
• Partial Shade: 3-6 hours of direct sunlight
• Full Shade: Less than 3 hours of direct sunlight