Page author: David Giblin
Frasera speciosa
elkweed, giant frasera, monument plant
Specimens
Photos

Distribution: Occurring chiefly east of the Cascades crest in Washington; Washington to California, east to the Great Plains.

Habitat: Slopes, forest openings, and meadows from middle elevations to the subalpine.

Flowers: June-August

Origin: Native

Growth Duration: Perennial

Conservation Status: Review Group 1 in Washington (WANHP)

Description:
General:

Perennial herbs from an unbranched, woody base, the single stem 1-2 m. tall, glabrous or scabrous-puberulent throughout.

Leaves:

Basal leaves 25-50 cm. long and 3-15 cm. wide, elliptic-oblong to oblanceolate; cauline leaves in whorls of 3-5, reduced upward.

Flowers:

Inflorescence elongate, open or congested, the flowers single on long pedicels in the axils of leafy bracts, in whorls along the stem; calyx divided nearly to the base, the 4 lobes 15-30 mm. long lanceolate; corolla saucer-shaped, the tube very short, the 4 lobes yellowish-greenish with purplish-blue spots, 10-25 mm. long, oval to broadly obovate, each with a fringed process at the base and a pair of fringed, oblong pits just above it; filaments 4, without crown scales; style as long as the superior ovary.

Fruits:

Capsule 2-2.6 cm. long.

Accepted Name:
Frasera speciosa Douglas ex Griseb.
Publication: Fl. Bor.-Amer. 2(8): 66-67, pl. 153. 1838.

Synonyms & Misapplications:
Swertia radiata (Kellogg) Kuntze [JPM]
Infraspecies:
Additional Resources:

PNW Herbaria: Specimen records of Frasera speciosa in the Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria database

WA Flora Checklist: Frasera speciosa checklist entry

OregonFlora: Frasera speciosa information

E-Flora BC: Frasera speciosa atlas page

CalPhotos: Frasera speciosa photos

51 photographs:
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