Lobelia erinus
Common Name(s):
- Phonetic Spelling
- loh-BEE-lee-a EAR-in-us
- This plant has medium severity poison characteristics.
- See below
- Description
-
Many cultivars are available: ‘Blue Moon’ has dark blue flowers; ‘Cambridge Blue’ has clear, soft blue flowers on compact, upright 4- to 6-inch plants; ‘Crystal Palace’, bronze-green leaves, dark blue flowers on compact plants; ‘Paper Moon’ has white flowers; ‘Rosamunde’, carmine red flowers with a white eye; ‘White Lady’ and ‘Snowball’, pure white flowers; ‘Blue Cascade’, ‘Fountain’ series, ‘Hamburgia’, and ‘Sapphire’ have trailing forms, suitable for hanging baskets or raised planters. ‘Sapphire’ has purple flowers with a white eye and is one of the best trailing lobelias. Plants should be cut back after each flush of flowering to encourage new blossoms.
Damping-off, stem rot, root rot, if conditions are too damp
Low drought tolerance
Poison Part: All parts
Poison Delivery Mode: Ingestion
Symptoms: Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, salivation, exhaustion and weakness, dilation of pupils, convulsions, and coma
Toxic Principle: Alkaloids lobelamine, lobeline, and others, plus a volatile oil
Severity: TOXIC ONLY IF LARGE QUANTITIES EATEN
Found in: Forest or natural area, in moist woods and fields, the edge of streams; landscape, in flower gardens, cultivated herbaceous annuals, and perennials
- See this plant in the following landscape:
- Border Landscape Pinewild County Club, Moore County
- Cultivars / Varieties:
-
- 'Compacta'
- 'Laguna Heavenly Lilac'
- 'Compacta'
- 'Compacta', 'Laguna Heavenly Lilac'
- Tags:
- Cultivars / Varieties:
-
- 'Compacta'
- 'Laguna Heavenly Lilac'
- 'Compacta'
- 'Compacta', 'Laguna Heavenly Lilac'
- Tags:
-
-
Attributes:
- Genus:
- Lobelia
- Species:
- erinus
- Family:
- Campanulaceae
- Life Cycle:
- Annual
- Dimensions:
- Height: 0 ft. 4 in. - 1 ft. 6 in.
- Width: 0 ft. 4 in. - 0 ft. 6 in.
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-
Whole Plant Traits:
- Plant Type:
- Annual
- Poisonous
- Habit/Form:
- Erect
-
-
Cultural Conditions:
- Light:
- Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
- Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
-
-
Fruit:
- Fruit Type:
- Capsule
- Fruit Description:
- inconspicuous and not showy
-
-
Flowers:
- Flower Color:
- Blue
- Pink
- Purple/Lavender
- White
- Flower Bloom Time:
- Fall
- Spring
- Flower Shape:
- Tubular
- Flower Petals:
- 4-5 petals/rays
- 6 petals/rays
- Flower Description:
- Flowers are white, scarlet, or blue, 5-parted, tubular and irregular-shaped with 2 lips
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-
Leaves:
- Leaf Color:
- Green
- Leaf Type:
- Simple
- Leaf Arrangement:
- Alternate
- Leaf Shape:
- Linear
- Obovate
- Leaf Margin:
- Crenate
- Hairs Present:
- No
- Leaf Length:
- 1-3 inches
-
-
Stem:
- Stem Is Aromatic:
- No
-
-
Landscape:
- Attracts:
- Butterflies
- Pollinators
- Problems:
- Poisonous to Humans
-
-
Poisonous to Humans:
- Poison Severity:
- Medium
- Poison Symptoms:
- Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, salivation, exhaustion and weakness, dilation of pupils, convulsions, and coma
- Poison Toxic Principle:
- Alkaloids lobelamine, lobeline, and others, plus a volatile oil
- Causes Contact Dermatitis:
- No
- Poison Part:
- Flowers
- Fruits
- Leaves
- Roots
- Sap/Juice
- Seeds
