Great Blue Lobelia, Blue Cardinal Flower, Big Blue Lobelia, Great Lobelia
Lobelia siphilitica
Family: Campanulaceae
What it is like
Bloom Color: Blue. Main Bloom Time: Early fall, Late summer, Mid fall. Form: Upright or erect.
Lobelia siphilitica is a PERENNIAL growing to 1 m (3ft 3in) by 0.3 m (1ft) at a medium rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 5. It is in flower from August to September. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs). Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist or wet soil.
Height (m): 1
Where it is found
Moist woods and marshes.
Eastern N. America - Maine to S. Dakota, south to Texas and Missouri.
Conservation Status:
Countries/locations it is found in
How it is used
Food
Rating: 0
Medicine
Rating: 2
The root is cathartic, diaphoretic and emetic. It is used in the treatment of dropsy, diarrhoea, stomach complaints, syphilis and dysentery. A poultice of the root has been applied to sores that are hard to heal. The leaves are analgesic and febrifuge. An infusion has been used in the treatment of colds and fevers. A poultice of the crushed leaves has been applied to the head to relieve the pain of headaches. At one time in N. America the root of this plant was believed to be effective in the treatment of VD. When used in Europe, however, it was found to be ineffective. 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. 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. A homeopathic remedy is made from the roots.
Analgesic: Relieves pain.
Cathartic: A strong laxative but less violent than a purgative.
Diaphoretic: Induces perspiration.
Dysentery: Used in treating dysentery - an infection of the intestines that causes diarrhoea containing blood or mucus.
Emetic: Induces vomiting.
Homeopathy: A plant used in homeopathic treatments.
Poultice: A moist, usually warm or hot, mass of plant material applied to the skin in the treatment of burns etc.
VD: Used in the treatment of venereal disease
Other
Rating:
How it is grown
Landscape Uses:Border, Massing, Woodland garden. Requires a moist soil, succeeding in full sun or partial shade. A very ornamental plant, but it is short-lived unless divided frequently. Special Features:Attracts birds, North American native, Naturalizing, All or parts of this plant are poisonous, Wetlands plant, Attracts butterflies, Suitable for cut flowers.
Propagating it: Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame. 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. Basal cuttings in spring. 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.
Best place to grow: Bog Garden;
Habit: Perennial
Hardiness: 5-9
Growth: Medium
Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)
Shade: Semi-shade, no shade
Moisture: Moist, wet
Things to keep in mind
The plant is potentially poisonous. It contains the alkaloid lobeline which has a similar effect upon the nervous system as nicotine.