Bigblue Lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica)
- Family: Bellwort (Campanulaceae)
- Flowering: August-September.
- Field Marks: This Lobelia differs by its inch
long blue flowers and its sepals cleft about halfway down the
cup.
- Habitat: Along streams, wet meadows, around ponds and
lakes, wet prairies, in sloughs, roadside ditches.
- Habit: Perennial herb from fibrous roots.
- Stems: Erect, usually branched, smooth or hairy, up
to 4 feet tall, with milky sap.
- Leaves: Alternate, simple, oblong to elliptic,
pointed at the tip, tapering to the base, toothed, smooth or
hairy, up to 5 inches long.
- Flowers: Several crowded into racemes up to 10 inches
long, blue, up to 1 inch long, on short stalks.
- Sepals: 5, green, united below for about half their
length.
- Petals: 5, blue, 2-lipped; the upper lip 2-lobed; the
lower lip 3-lobed.
- Stamens: 5.
- Pistils: Ovary inferior.
- Fruits: Capsules opening at the top.
- Notes: The leaves and stems are browsed upon by
white-tailed deer.
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