Water Lobelia, Dortmann's cardinalflower
Lobelia dortmanna
Family: Campanulaceae
What it is like
Lobelia dortmanna is a PERENNIAL growing to 0.3 m (1ft). It is in flower from July 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): 0.3
Where it is found
Stony lakes and tarns with acid water.
Western Europe, including Britain, from Scandanavia to Brittany
Conservation Status:
Countries/locations it is found in
How it is used
Food
Rating: 0
Medicine
Rating: 2
A tincture of the fresh plant can cure headaches and noises in the ears. The following notes are for L. inflata - this species is said to have similar actions. Indian Tobacco was a traditional North American Indian remedy for a wide range of conditions. Nowadays it is used mainly as a powerful antispasmodic herb in the treatment of respiratory and muscle disorders. Acting also as a respiratory stimulant, Indian Tobacco is a valuable remedy for conditions such as bronchial asthma and chronic bronchitis. The dried flowering herb and the seed are antiasthmatic, antispasmodic, diaphoretic, diuretic, emetic, expectorant and nervine. The plant is taken internally in the treatment of asthma, bronchitis, whooping cough and pleurisy. This remedy should be used with great caution and only under the supervision of a qualified practitioner. Excess doses cause nausea, vomiting, drowsiness and respiratory failure. See also the notes above on toxicity. The plant contains the alkaline 'lobeline' which has proved to be of value in helping people to give up smoking tobacco. It is contained in many proprietary anti-smoking mixtures where it mimics the effects of nicotine. The alkaloids present in the leaves are used to stimulate the removal of phlegm from the respiratory tract. When chewed, the leaves induce vomiting, headache and nausea - in larger doses it has caused death. The alkaloids first act as a stimulant and then as a depressive to the autonomic nervous system and in high doses paralyses muscular action in the same way as curare. Externally, the plant is used in treating pleurisy, rheumatism, tennis elbow, whiplash injuries, boils and ulcers. The whole plant is harvested when the lower fruits are ripe and it is used fresh or dried.
Antiasthmatic: Treats asthma.
Antispasmodic: Relaxes muscular spasms and cramps, calming nervous irritation.
Diaphoretic: Induces perspiration.
Diuretic: Acts on the kidneys, promoting the flow of urine.
Emetic: Induces vomiting.
Expectorant: Clears phlegm from the chest by inducing coughing.
Miscellany: Various medicinal actions that need more clarification.
Nervine: Stimulates and calms the nerves.
Other
Rating:
Miscellany: A rag-bag of items that are difficult to categorise.
How it is grown
Succeeds in full sun or light shade. Grows well in heavy clay soils.
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: 0-0
Growth:
Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)
Shade: Semi-shade, no shade
Moisture: Moist, wet
Things to keep in mind
Although no specific reports have been seen for this species, most members of this genus contain the alkaloid lobeline which has a similar effect upon the nervous system as nicotine