Lobelia siphilitica

Last updated

Great blue lobelia
Lobelia siphilitica.jpg
Status TNC G5.svg
Secure  (NatureServe) [2]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Campanulaceae
Genus: Lobelia
Species:
L. siphilitica
Binomial name
Lobelia siphilitica
L.
USDA Lobelia siphlitica range map.png

Lobelia siphilitica, the great blue lobelia, [3] great lobelia, [4] or blue cardinal flower, [5] is a plant species within the family Campanulaceae. It is an herbaceous perennial dicot native to eastern and central Canada and United States. There are two recognized varieties of Lobelia siphilitica, var. siphilitica and var. ludoviciana. [6] Blooming from August to October, [7] it is short-lived, lasting only for a few years. [7]

Contents

Although self-compatible, a flower is unable to offer pollen to itself and it must be pollinated by insects, primarily bumblebees. [7] Bees use the lower three fused petals as a landing pad. A bee of correct weight will depress these petals on its way to the flower's nectar, this lowers the stigma wiping it against the bee's back. [8]

Description

Morphology

Growing up to 4 feet (1.2 m) tall, Lobelia siphilitica has a single ridged, unbranched stem, which is smooth or sparsely hairy. Leaves are hairless or scarcely hairy, that vary in shape from elliptical to lance-like, slightly narrowing at the base. They are about 2 inches (51 mm) wide and 2 to 6 in (51 to 152 mm) in length. Leaves are alternately attached to the stem with no leaf stalk. [6] The root system is a central taproot, that occasionally produces basal offshoots. [6]

The plant produces a spike of zygomorphic flowers in the late summer. The flowers are more closely clustered towards the top of the raceme and become more infrequent further down with the lower flowers begin blooming first. [6] Great lobelia flowers are notably larger than many other lobelia species. Flowers are typically blue or violet, but can be lighter, even white and are usually about 1 in (25 mm) long. [8] The tubed portion of the flower is often striped. Great lobelia flowers have five petals; the three lower petals are fused, and the two upper petals are usually curled back. A curved style pokes between the upper two petals. The lower center lobe is wider and has two small bumps near the throat that are typically lighter in coloration. [6] Seed pods are two-chambered with an auriculate base and have many small seeds. Seeds are ovular, translucent, and golden brown and are presumed to be distributed by wind or water. [9]

Distribution and habitat

Great lobelia is found in the north from Maine to Manitoba and in the south from North Carolina to Texas. Sparse populations can be found as far west as Wyoming and Colorado. [10]

It thrives in moist to wet soils and partially shaded environments, including swamp forests, roadside ditches, floodplains, lake margins, and wet prairies. [10]

Cultivation

Lobelia siphilitica is sold in garden centers and is often grown in zones 4 to 9. It can be propagated either by cutting or seed. [10]

Uses

Native Americans traditionally use Lobelia siphilitica to treat respiratory and muscle disorders. It was once considered a cure for syphilis by early European settlers, which is where the scientific name for the species originates. [10]

Related Research Articles

<i>Hesperis matronalis</i> Species of flowering plant in the cabbage family Brassicaceae

Hesperis matronalis is an herbaceous flowering plant species in the family Brassicaceae. It has numerous common names, including dame's rocket, damask-violet, dame's-violet, dames-wort, dame's gilliflower, night-scented gilliflower, queen's gilliflower, rogue's gilliflower, summer lilac, sweet rocket, mother-of-the-evening, Good & Plenties, and winter gilliflower.

<i>Campanula rotundifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

Campanula rotundifolia, the harebell, Scottish bluebell, or bluebell of Scotland, is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family Campanulaceae. This herbaceous perennial is found throughout the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. In Scotland, it is often known simply as bluebell. It is the floral emblem of Sweden where it is known as small bluebell. It produces its violet-blue, bell-shaped flowers in late summer and autumn.

<i>Solanum aviculare</i> Species of plant

Solanum aviculare, commonly called poroporo or pōporo, bumurra (Dharug), kangaroo apple, pam plum (Australia), or New Zealand nightshade, is a soft-wooded shrub native to New Zealand and the east coast of Australia.

<i>Silene flos-cuculi</i> Species of flowering plant

Silene flos-cuculi, commonly called ragged-robin, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the family Caryophyllaceae. It is native to Eurasia and has been introduced to North America.

<i>Lobelia cardinalis</i> Species of flowering plant

Lobelia cardinalis, the cardinal flower, is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family Campanulaceae native to the Americas, from southeastern Canada south through the eastern and southwestern United States, Mexico and Central America to northern Colombia.

<i>Rudbeckia fulgida</i> Species of flowering plant

Rudbeckia fulgida, the orange coneflower or perennial coneflower, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native to eastern North America.

<i>Viola sororia</i> Species of flowering plant in family Violaceae

Viola sororia, known commonly as the common blue violet, is a short-stemmed herbaceous perennial plant native to eastern North America. It is known by a number of common names, including common meadow violet, purple violet, woolly blue violet, hooded violet, and wood violet.

<i>Gentiana andrewsii</i> Species of plant

Gentiana andrewsii, the bottle gentian, closed gentian, or closed bottle gentian, is an herbaceous species of flowering plant in the gentian family Gentianaceae. Gentiana andrewsii is native to northeastern North America, from the Dakotas to the East Coast and through eastern Canada.

<i>Sagina subulata</i> Species of flowering plant

Sagina subulata (, the heath pearlwort, Irish-moss, awl-leaf pearlwort or Scottish moss, is a species of flowering plant in the pink and carnation family Caryophyllaceae. It is native to Europe, from Iceland south to Spain, and east to southern Sweden and Romania. It occurs on dry sandy or gravelly soils.

<i>Mitella diphylla</i> Species of flowering plant

Mitella diphylla is a clump forming, open woodland plant native to northeast and midwest regions of North America.

<i>Rosa chinensis</i> Species of flowering plant

Rosa chinensis, known commonly as the China rose, Chinese rose, or Bengal rose, is a member of the genus Rosa native to Southwest China in Guizhou, Hubei, and Sichuan Provinces. The first publication of Rosa chinensis was in 1768 by Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin in Observationum Botanicarum, 3, p. 7 & plate 55.

Lupinus latifolius var. barbatus, the Klamath lupine, sometimes also called bearded lupine, is a very rare plant of the Western U.S., known only from northeastern California and southeastern Oregon. It is a rare variety of the generally common species L. latifolius, which is a member of the bean family.

<i>Lupinus bicolor</i> Species of legume

Lupinus bicolor is a species of lupine known as the miniature lupine, Lindley's annual lupine, pigmy-leaved lupine, or bicolor lupine.

<i>Viola adunca</i> Species of flowering plant

Viola adunca is a species of violet known by the common names hookedspur violet, early blue violet, sand violet, and western dog violet. It is native to meadows and forests of western North America, Canada, and the northern contiguous United States.

<i>Veronica serpyllifolia</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Plantaginaceae

Veronica serpyllifolia, the thyme-leaved speedwell or thymeleaf speedwell, is a perennial flowering plant in the plantain family. It is native to Europe, but can be found elsewhere on most continents as an introduced species.

<i>Clematis occidentalis</i> Species of flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae

Clematis occidentalis is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family known by the common names western blue virginsbower or purple clematis. It is native to much of southern Canada and the northern United States.

<i>Lythrum hyssopifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

Lythrum hyssopifolia is a species of flowering plant in the loosestrife family known by the common names hyssop loosestrife and grass-poly. It is native to Europe but it is known elsewhere, including parts of Australia and eastern and western North America, as an introduced species and sometimes a weed. It is rare in the United Kingdom, with occasional isolated populations. It often grows in moist habitats, such as marshes and wet agricultural fields, rice paddies, for example.

<i>Silene noctiflora</i> Species of flowering plant

Silene noctiflora is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common names night-flowering catchfly, nightflowering silene and clammy cockle. It is native to Eurasia, but it is known on other continents as an introduced species and sometimes a weed. In North America, it is a common weed of grain crops in the Canadian prairie provinces and in much of the United States. It grows in fields and in other disturbed habitat.

<i>Claytonia rosea</i> Species of flowering plant

Claytonia rosea, commonly called Rocky Mountain spring beauty, western springbeauty or Madrean springbeauty, is a diminutive spring blooming ephemeral plant with pale pink to magenta flowers. It grows a small round tuberous root and it one of the earliest wildflowers of spring in its range. It is found in dry meadows in forests of ponderosa and Chihuahuan pines, and moist ledges of mountain slopes of the Beaver Dam Mountains of Utah, Colorado Front Range, and Sierra Madre Occidental, south and east to the Sierra Maderas del Carmen of Coahuila.

<i>Penstemon caespitosus</i> Species of flowering plant

Penstemon caespitosus, commonly known as mat penstemon, is a summer blooming perennial flower in the large Penstemon genus. It is a widespread plant from near timberline to the foothills in the Southern Rocky Mountains and Colorado Plateau in North America. It is noted for its ground hugging growth habit and as a plant used in xeriscape and rock gardening.

References

  1. Maiz-Tome, L. (2016). "Lobelia siphilitica". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T64317288A67729987. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T64317288A67729987.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. NatureServe (2024). "Lobelia siphilitica". Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  3. USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Lobelia siphilitica". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  4. BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  5. "Lobelia siphilitica". Missouri Botanical Garden . Retrieved 2020-08-19.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 "Lobelia siphilitica (Blue Lobelia): Minnesota Wildflowers". www.minnesotawildflowers.info. Retrieved 2021-12-23.
  7. 1 2 3 Caruso, C. M. (2006). "Plasticity of inflorescence traits in Lobelia siphilitica (Lobeliaceae) in response to soil water availability". American Journal of Botany. 93 (4): 531–8. doi:10.3732/ajb.93.4.531. PMID   21646213.
  8. 1 2 "Great Blue Lobelia". www.fs.fed.us. Retrieved 2021-12-23.
  9. "USDA Plants Database". plants.usda.gov. Retrieved 2021-12-23.
  10. 1 2 3 4 "USDA Plants Database Lobelia siphilitica Plant Guide". plants.usda.gov. Retrieved 2021-12-23.