Amarican columbo, Frasera caroliniensis

Columbo is a cicada of the plant kingdom. In this year of the 17-year cicada hatch, it flowered profusely in the area I visited in Ohio last week. Seemed like the right year to make sure I finally saw this in bloom. You can't miss it if it does bloom. Panicles of the strange flowers can stand six feet tall. But it is also easy to miss because plants only bloom once, and may live up to thirty years before their ultimate moment. When they do bloom, most plants in a stand will bloom together. That is no doubt an aid to pollination. Does one little good to pollinate when all your kin are still getting it together. How they communicate to decide to bloom is unknown. American columbo is a woodland plant in AL, AR, GA, IL, IN, KY, MI, MO, MS, NC, NY, OH, OK, PA, SC, TN, VA, and ON. Highlands Co OH, 6/1/21. Gentian family, Gentianaceae.