Natural History

Great blue lobelia

Classification
Kingdom – Plantae
Division – Magnoliophyta
Class – Magnoliopsida
Order – Campanulales
Family – Campanulaceae
Genus species – Lobelia siphilitica L.

Etymology
Lobelia after Matthias de l”obel (1538-1616), a Flemish botanist. 
siphilitica because it was once thought to cure syphilis.

Leaves
Leaves are thin, mostly oblong, alternate.
1 to 6 inches long, ¼ to 1 ¾ inch wide.
Smooth, hairless, or slightly hairy.
Leaf edges are irregularly toothed.
Leaf tips are pointed
Upper leaves are smaller.

Inflorescence
Flowers are on an elongated vertical stalk.
Stalk is about 4 to 20 inches long.
Anywhere from 3 to 60 flowers on a stalk.

Flowers
Flowers are bright blue to pale blue with white stripes at throat. 
Flowers are tubular with five lobes:  three lower lobes are prominent; two upper lobes are erect or curving backward.
Petals are bell-shaped, smooth or with bristle-like hairs.
Flowers are about 1 inch long.
Leaf-like bracts below each flower.
Flowers from August to October

Fruits, Seeds
Spherical to cup-shaped capsule, about ¼ inch long.
Seeds are oval, chestnut-brown.

Stems
Stem is erect, stout, up to 1 meter tall.
Stem contains milky sap.
Stem is simple or sometimes branched.
Stem is leafy, smooth, no hairs or slightly hairy.

Habitat
Occurs in areas with moist soils:  seeps, marshes, wooded areas, and stream banks.

Did you know...
Cherokee Indians used infusions of leaves to treat colds, fevers, and rheumatism.
Its brilliant flowers have earned the plant a place in gardens and it is becoming quite common.
The plant is somewhat toxic.  All parts are poisonous.

Sources
http://www.lib.ksu.edu/wildflower/bluelobelia.html
http://www.missouriplants.com/Bluealt/Lobelia_siphilitica_page.html
http://wisplants.uwsp.edu/scripts/detail.asp?SpCode=LOBSIP
http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants/alphalist.html
http://www.plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=LOSI

Lobelia flowers