Lobelia siphilitica (Great blue lobelia)

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Lobelia siphilitica L.

Great blue lobelia

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Asteridae	A large class that encompasses asters
Order	Asterales	Flowering plants with a central disk flower and surrounding petals, like daisies
Family	Campanulaceae	Campanula or bellflower family; means “bell-shaped flowers”
Genus	Lobelia	Named for Flemish botanist Matthias de l’Obel, also known as Lobelius
Species	siphilitica	From the discredited belief that it can cure syphilis

About plant names...

Great blue lobelia prefers wet woods and clearings. It is native to central and eastern Canada and the United States. Cultivars are popular with gardeners.

Plants: Usually unbranched, 20-60" (50-152 cm) in height.

Leaves: Leaves are oval to oblong, and 3-4½" (7.6-12 cm) long, shorter near the top.

Flowers: Tubular blue or white flowers grow from leaf axils up the stem, and in a large spike at the top. Each flower is ½-1½" (1.3-3.8 cm) in size, and consists of an upper lip with two segments, and a lower lip with three. Flowers appear from Aug-Sep.

Edibility: Poisonous Skull & Crossbones . Although not intensely poisonous, lobelia contains lobeline, which is similar in nicotine in its effects on the nervous system.

Online References:

Www.uaex.edu

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Plants for a Future, a resource and information centre for edible and otherwise useful plants

Wikipedia

References:

Clemants, Steven; Gracie, Carol, Wildflowers in the Field and Forest, Oxford University Press, 2006, p. 28

9/14/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts
≈ 6 × 4" (15 × 10 cm)

9/14/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts
≈ 4 × 5" (10 × 13 cm)

9/14/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts
≈ 5 × 9" (13 × 21 cm) ID is uncertain

Lobelia siphilitica description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 25 May 2020.

9/14/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts
≈ 7 × 11" (18 × 27 cm) ID is uncertain

9/14/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts
≈ 7 × 11" (18 × 27 cm)

9/14/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts
≈ 6 × 6" (15 × 16 cm)

9/14/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Massachusetts
≈ 7 × 11" (18 × 27 cm)

10/11/2012 · By Jacquelyn Boyt

Range: Zones 4-9:

About this map...