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Lobelia siphilitica
| Common name: |
Great Blue Lobelia |
Family: |
Campanulaceae |
| Author: |
L. |
Botanical references: |
43, 200 |
| Synonyms: |
|
| Known Hazards: |
The plant is potentially poisonous[222]. It contains the alkaloid lobeline which has a similar effect upon the nervous system as nicotine[274]. |
| Range: |
Eastern N. America - Maine to S. Dakota, south to Texas and Missouri. |
| Habitat: |
Moist woods and marshes[187]. |
| Edibility Rating (1-5): |
0 | Medicinal Rating (1-5): | 2 |
| Other Possible Synonyms: | From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below. |
| L. syphilitica[E,HPIC]
|
| Other Common Names: | From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below. |
| Blue Cardinal Flower [H], Blue Lobelia [H], Frengiotu [E], Great Blue Lobelia [H,P,B], Great Lobelia [S,H,L], High-belia [H], Lobelia [E], Lobelia, Great [S], |
| Systematics: | From a USDA Plants Database |
|
Order: Campanulales. Bellflower family
|
| Other Range Info: |
From the Ethnobotany Database |
|
Portugal
Turkey Us Us(Amerindian) Us(Appalachia)
|
Physical Characteristics
Perennial growing to 1m by 0.25m . It is hardy to zone 5. It is in flower from August to September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs).
We rate it 0/5 for edibility and
2/5 for medicinal use.
The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils.
The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils.
It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade.
It requires moist or wet soil.
Habitats and Possible Locations
Bog Garden.Edible Uses
None known
Medicinal Uses
Disclaimer
Analgesic
Cathartic Diaphoretic Emetic Homeopathy Poultice VD.
The root is cathartic, diaphoretic and emetic[4, 46, 103]. It is used
in the treatment of dropsy, diarrhoea, stomach complaints, syphilis and
dysentery[4, 257]. A poultice of the root has been applied to sores that are
hard to heal[257].
The leaves are analgesic and febrifuge[257]. An infusion has been used in
the treatment of colds and fevers[257]. A poultice of the crushed leaves has
been applied to the head to relieve the pain of headaches[257].
At one time in N. America the root of this plant was believed to be
effective in the treatment of VD[103, 222]. When used in Europe, however, it
was found to be ineffective[213]. This might have been because the N.
American Indians used the fresh root (which still contained the volatile
oils) and also used it in conjunction with Podophyllum peltatum and Prunus
virginiana, and then dusted the ulcers with the bark of Ceanothus
americanus[213].
It was believed by some native North American Indian tribes that if the
finely ground roots were secretly added to the food of an arguing couple then
this would avert a divorce and they would love each other again[213].
A homeopathic remedy is made from the roots[4].
Other Uses
None known
Cultivation details
Requires a moist soil, succeeding in full sun or partial shade[111,
187, 200].
A very ornamental plant[1], but it is short-lived unless divided
frequently[233]..
Propagation
Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame[200]. When they
are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and
grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out into
their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last
expected frosts.
Division in spring[200].
Basal cuttings in spring[1]. Harvest the shoots when they are about 10cm
long with plenty of underground stem. Pot them up into individual pots and
keep them in light shade in a cold frame or greenhouse until they are rooting
well. Plant them out in the summer.
Layering in moist sand, it forms roots at the nodes[200].
Suppliers
For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.
Web References
- Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
- [H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
- [E] Ethnobotany Data
(common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
- [V] Images
from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A& M Bioinformatics Working Group.
- [W] Photos
(common names, range) from the University of Washington Medicinal Herb Garden.
- [B] Data
(Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
- [S] Image
from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
- [G] Data
(Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
- [P] Data.
(uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
References for Lobelia syphilitica (a possible synonym).
References for lobelia syphilitica (a possible synonym).
See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.
Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.
[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).
[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
[43] Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950
A bit dated but good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.
[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
[103] Haywood. V. H. Flowering Plants of the World. Oxford University Press ISBN 0-19-217674-9
Very readable and well illustrated, it lists plants by families giving the basic diagnostic features and some details of plant uses.
[111] Sanders. T. W. Popular Hardy Perennials. Collingridge 1926
A fairly wide range of perennial plants that can be grown in Britain and how to grow them.
[187] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Perennials Volumes 1 and 2. Pan Books 1991 ISBN 0-330-30936-9
Photographs of over 3,000 species and cultivars of ornamental plants together with brief cultivation notes, details of habitat etc.
[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
[213] Weiner. M. A. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books 1980 ISBN 0-449-90589-6
A nice book to read though it is difficult to look up individual plants since the book is divided into separate sections dealing with the different medicinal uses plus a section on edible plants. Common names are used instead of botanical.
[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.
[233] Thomas. G. S. Perennial Garden Plants J. M. Dent & Sons, London. 1990 ISBN 0 460 86048 8
A concise guide to a wide range of perennials. Lots of cultivation guides, very little on plant uses.
[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.
Readers Comments
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Plant information taken from the
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Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963 This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Lobelia+siphilitica
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