Utah Frasera

Description:

Frasera paniculata (syn. F. utahensis and Swertia utahensis). Common names include Utah Elkweed (yet a native species should never be referred to as a "weed"!) and Utah Swertia. Has opposite, white-margined, undulating leaves (not as apparent from this picture as they usually are). Thought to be biennial, but may be a short-lived perennial. Corolla is a greenish-yellow color, or can be closer to white in appearance. Scanned from a slide in 2014. The camera that I was using I believe was a Panasonic SLR.June 15, 1984, Canyon Rims Recreation Area, San Juan County, Utah, elev. roughly 6,000 ft.Note: this is one of about a dozen species with a misidentified photo contained in the 1998 publication of "Canyon Country Wildflowers" by Damian Fagan and published by Falcon Publishing, commonly sold at visitor centers in the area as well as elsewhere. There has been a newer edition of that book and hopefully some of those errors have been corrected.