Monument plant

http://www.swcoloradowildflowers.com/Brown%20Green%20Enlarged%20Photo%20Pages/frasera%20speciosa.htm

I had no idea that I was witnessing a miracle in progress when these things started blooming all over my property. And I will treat them with a little more respect as some are very old. When they bloomed the pollinators went wild! They were covered with all sorts of bugs. I hope that there will be some seeds left to collect at the end of the month when I get up there again.

More info, I was trying to find out it's medicinal use and if any of it is edible.

The root is edible, but can be toxic if taken in large quantities.

Medicinal
Contraceptive; Febrifuge; Laxative; Stomachic; Tonic.

The root, when ground into a powder and then mixed with oil, has been used as a parasiticide in order to kill lice

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.

Fantastic!

OK folks I have about a cup of seeds and would send out some to anybody who would like to add these to their gardens. Remember these are a long term investment, they may not bloom for up to 80 years! They do have nice leaves and the roots might be a crop for harvesting.

I have not tried to grow these myself so I do not have info on what it takes to grow them. From the web searches I have done , they seem to grow over a wide range, in many conditions.
I know that on my land in Wyoming, when one finally blooms and the seeds scatter, a couple of years latter I have noticed lots of young ones around the dead stalk.

PM Me with an address and give me a couple of weeks to get them in the mail.