Cousin Itt Lobelia

Description:

L. telekii plants usually consist of a single rosette, which grows for several decades, flowers once, and then dies. However, a very small number of plants have multiple rosettes connected by an underground stem. Each flower is subtended by a long hairy bract, and the overall appearance has led to the nickname "Cousin Itt lobelia".

Habitat:

Found only in the alpine zones of Mount Kenya, Mount Elgon, and the Aberdare Mountains of East Africa and associated areas. It lives at high altitudes on well-drained sloped hillsides. It is a semelparous species, putting all its reproductive effort into producing single large inflorescence 3 metres (10 ft) or less in height, and then dying.

Notes:

These giant lobelias are amazing. The rosette in the first picture will bloom into the tall shaggy flower of the middle photo.