Monument Plants

These plants intrigue me to no end. I think most folks confuse them with Mullein- both are tall and green, and if you’re not paying close attentions, the mixup is well understood. But they are quite different from Mullein. These plants are monocarpic- meaning it flowers once and then dies. They also get tall earlier in the season than Mullein do. Mullein is also a non-native species.

But I digress.

The research indicates that Monument Plants may live for up to 80 years before they bloom. They produce a leafy rosette on the ground for a few years first and then they produce this tall, skinny flower stalk with green/purple petals. And then, once they flower, they die.

The Monument Plant or Elkweed, or Green Gentian is Montana’s version of the century plant in the southwest (the century plant actually only loves for 10 to 30 years before it flowers and dies). Nevertheless, the century plant gets all the good press, but the monument plant is really interesting. I see these all over our south hills. 

The individual in the first image has flowered and died, and who knows how old it was. It may have been growing since the 1960s or earlier. Crazy.