Lobelia telekii

Lobelia telekii is a species of flowering plant in the family Campanulaceae, that is found only in the alpine zones of Mount Kenya, Mount Elgon, and the Aberdare Mountains of East Africa. It occurs at higher altitudes on well-drained sloped hillsides. It is a semelparous species, growing vegetatively for about 40 years and putting putting all its reproductive effort into producing single large inflorescence up to 3 metres (10 ft) tall before dying. Inflorescences of L. telekii also possesses a large pith-volume for internal water storage and marcescent foliage which could provide insulation. It secretes a polysaccharide into this reservoir, which may be useful for its survival in the cold climate. The plant is named after the Austro-Hungarian explorer, Count Sámuel Teleki. L. telekii plants usually consist of a single rosette, which grows for several decades, flowers once, and then dies (a strategy termed as semelparity). However, a very small number of plants have multiple rosettes c......read more on Wikipedia.