Kansas Wildflowers and Grasses

BLUE LOBELIA

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Lobelia siphilitica L.

Konza Prairie, Riley County, Kansas

Perennial

Height: 1-3 feet

Family: Campanulaceae - Bellflower family

Flowering Period: August, September,October

Stems:

Erect, stout, simple or sometimes branched, leafy, glabrous or slightly hairy.

Leaves:

Alternate, simple, oblong to lanceolate, 1 to 6 inches long, .25 to 1.75 inch wide, glabrous or slightly pubescent; margins irregularly toothed; tips pointed; upper leaves reduced in size.

Inflorescences:

Racemes, 4 to 20 inches long, 3-60-flowered, terminal; bracts leaf-like below, reduced above.

Flowers:

5-lobed; calyx bell-shaped, glabrous or bristly hairy, lobes persistent; corollas about 1 inch long, bright blue to pale blue with white stripes at throat; lower lobes 3, prominent; upper lobes 2, erect or curving backward.

Fruits:

Capsules, spherical to cup-shaped, about 1/4 inch long; seeds oval, chestnut-brown.

Habitat:

Moist soils of seeps, marshes, and stream banks.

Distribution:

East 2/3 of Kansas.

Comments:

The Cherokee steeped leaves of blue lobelia to make teas used to treat colds, fevers, and rheumatism.

Blue lobelia is related to cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis).

Blue lobelia flowers