Pale Spike, Palespike lobelia
Lobelia spicata
Family: Campanulaceae
What it is like
Lobelia spicata is a PERENNIAL growing to 1 m (3ft 3in) by 0.3 m (1ft). See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 4. It is in flower from June to August. 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
Dry mostly sandy soils in fields, meadows, glades and thickets.
Eastern N. America - New Brunswick to Minnesota.
Conservation Status:
Countries/locations it is found in
How it is used
Food
Rating: 0
Medicine
Rating: 1
A tea made from the leaves is emetic. A wash made from the stalks was used to treat neck and jaw sores. A tea made from the root was used in the treatment of trembling limbs - it was applied to scratches made in the limb.
Emetic: Induces vomiting.
Miscellany: Various medicinal actions that need more clarification.
Other
Rating:
Miscellany: A rag-bag of items that are difficult to categorise.
How it is grown
Requires a moist soil, succeeding in full sun or partial shade.
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; Cultivated Beds;
Habit: Perennial
Hardiness: 4-8
Growth:
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.