Consider-the-Lilies Web Gallery
Great Blue Lobelia
This native wildflower, a member of the Bellflower (Campanulaceae) family, grows where the ground is damp and fertile.
I came across these beauties in early September, adorning a patch of marshland in Augusta County, Virginia .
This specimen stood about thirty-six inches in height; under ideal conditions, this Lobelia can live up to its name, by growing up to forty-eight inches.
I find the history of the botanical names interesting.
The prefix Lobelia honors the 17th century botanist, Matthias de l'Obel , also known as Lobelius, who was an early researcher in the medicinal use of plants.
The suffix, siphilitica, refers to the belief that the root of this plant was an effective treatment for syphilis, which unfortunately it is not.
Lobelia siphilitica has several cousins on display in the Gallery.
One is the gorgeous native perennial, Cardinal Flower (L. cardinalis). Equipped with much narrower blossoms, it, unlike L. siphilitica, doesn't invite just any passing browser to sip nectar from its vividly colored blossoms. (See mouth.)
The red-blossom-loving Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris), however, is attracted to the flowers and has the requisite long beak and tongue to reach the nectar.
At the same time it leaves a deposit of pollen picked up from brushing against the anthers of other Cardinal Flowers. (See arrow.)
But, as you can see to the right, the Great Blue Lobelia has a more open blossom; also the intense blue is a blossom color to which honeybees are attracted.
So bees were buzzing all around these strikingly blue blossoms when I took these images.
Thus it is, in the fields of God's economy!
It is not only Lobelia that prefer a damp environment: another beautiful wildflower needing this special habitat is the delicate Turtle Head (Chelone glabra).
It was actually rooted in the water of a shallow brook.
(Other plants in the Gallery that flourish in a marshy habitat are Golden Ragwort, American Alumroot, Marsh Marigold, and Heal-all.
These moisture-loving lilies of several plant families are classified by botanists as hydric plants.
Not all Lobelia, however, need the rich damp ground found in marshland and on floodplains.
Here is another member of this family, the native perennial, L. inflata, that flourishes on dry slopes in open woods and along roadsides in compacted soil that often contains lots of gravel and hardly any moisture.
Known as Indian-tobacco—no doubt because the settlers saw Native Americans smoking it—is just as succulent and delicate as its relatives but needs a distinctly different environment.
Note: Botanists warn that toxins found in the leaves, seed pods, and root of Indian-tobacco are extremely dangerous if taken internally in any form, including smoking.
As with many of the lovely lilies from God's creation displayed in the Gallery, I recommend that we enjoy Indian-tobacco and other Lobelia only as a visual treat!
Any thoughts, pro or con? Why not drop me an anonymous note at the Comments page?
OR
Go back to the Main Directory to consider more lilies of the field.