Frasera speciosa with Red-shouldered Moth 3432

            Western mountain ranges are wonderful places to find wildflowers. I don't know why, I have found more in meadows in Sequoia NP and at Mt. Rainier than any of the other parks including Tuolumne Meadows which is a large area in Yosemite. 

This a plant which I've found in all three places, and althought the greatest number were at Crescent Meadow in Sequoia, this was a partcularly surprising flower in Tuolumne Meadows. Why surprising? Because the Frasera flowers only once in its lifetime and then it dies. What's surprising is that I happened to find one in full bloom and a week later, I never would have even known about it.

Frasera speciosa is a species of flowering plant in the gentian family (Gentianaceae) known by the common names elkweed, deer's ears, and monument plant. The plant is monocarpic, growing for several years and only flowering once before it dies. Flowering is synchronized among plants in a given area, with widespread, picturesque blooms occurring periodically. It is not known why some plants in an area will not flower in a mass flowering event, or what cues the plants rely on to initiate flowering.

A word about Tuolumne Meadows. Tuolumne Meadows is a gentle, dome-studded, sub-alpine meadow area along the Tuolumne River in the eastern section of Yosemite National Park in the United States. In 27 trips to Yosemite, I only stopped at the meadows three times. At an elevation of elevation is 8,619 feet (2,627 m), I've seen snow there as early as October, and flooding from snowmelt is a common occurence in spring. Timing is eveything when it comes to wildflowers and wildlife in Tuolumne Meadows.

Speaking of "wilflife," that is a Red-shouldered moth (Ctenucha rubroscapus) and the only one I ever saw until I found another 100 miles south at Crescent Meadow in Sequoia. The red-shouldered ctenucha moth, is a moth of the family Erebidae.  It is found in western North America, where it is limited to lower elevations west of the Cascade Mountains, south of Chehalis in Washington, as well as at lower elevations in the Sierra Nevada Range.

This was one of the first time I used my (then) new 2011 Canon SX20 in the national parks, and I went to town with it. One of the best lenses of all the Canons (six) I've had and have specialized in wildflowers and insects. I had it for just a year, and then jumped two models to the SX40, but I still used the SX20 for insects and wildflowers.

Taken in: United States / California / White Wolf (show map)

Taken on: August 11, 2011

Tags:

Frasera

speciosa

Deer's

Ears

Centurian

Plant

Tuolome

Meadows

Crescent

Meadow

Mt.

Rainier

Sequoia

Yosemite

Red-shouldered

moth

Ctenucha

rubroscapus

Flowers

Only

Once

Canon

SX20 « less

Sets appears in: • Dark Backgrounds • Insects on Flowers more » • Wildflowers and Cultivars « less

Groups appears in: • Wildflowers • Nature, wildlife, and the great outdoors more » • The Beauty of Nature • Wildflowers (amateur only) • Flowers close up • Wildflowers: Western Region US • From The Darkness • Wild Nature • Realm of the Insect • NATURE'S PAINTBRUSH • Insects on Flowers • Nature's Patterns • Nature For All: Flora & Fauna « less

Camera: Canon PowerShot SX20 IS, f/5.7, 1/125 sec, 100mm, ISO 100 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon PowerShot SX20 IS
Aperture:	f/5.7
Exposure Time:	0.008 sec (1/125)
Focal Length:	100mm
ISO:	100
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	On, Red-eye reduction
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	ACDSee Professional 2022
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