220 LOBELIA FAMILY 



Specnlaria perfoliata. Venus' looking-glass. Flowers blue, 

 wheel-shaped, small, sessile in leaf-axils. Plants 6-20 in. tall. 

 Leaves roundish, toothed, less than 1 in. long, clasping the 

 stem. Chiefly in dry soil. Blooming from midwinter to fall. 

 Fla. to Mexico and northward. 



LOBELIA FAMILY (Loheliaceae) 



Herbaceous plants. Flowers blue, purple, or white, 2-lipped, 

 split, in terminal racemes. Leaves alternate. Fruit a capsule. 



Lobelias (Genus Lobelia) 



The flowers of this genus are peculiar in form for, 

 besides being very irregular, the corolla is slit open on 

 one side, and the five stamens, though separate at the 

 base, are united above. 



One of our most common lobelias is the tall L. glandu- 

 losa, which blooms in marshy places all the year, the color 

 of its flowers varying in intensity according to location. 

 L. paludosa, with smaller and paler flowers, is common in 

 damp soil, and the delicate little L. Feayana is abundant 

 during winter and spring in low pinelands. 



Lobelia glandulosa. Flowers blue, purple, or pale purple, 

 nearly 1 in. long, in terminal raceme. Calyx 5-lobed, gland- 

 ular-toothed. Plants 1-4 ft. tall. Leaves narrow, thickish, 

 remotely toothed, lower leaves 2-6 in. long, upper leaves 

 short. Wet places. Blooming all the year. Fla. to Va. 



Lobelia paludosa. Flowers white or pale blue, V2 in. long. 

 Plants 1-3 ft. tall. Leaves narrow, lower leaves 2-10 in. long. 

 Low grounds. Blooming chiefly from spring to fall. Fla. 

 to Del. and La. 



Lobelia Feayana. Flowers blue, small, raceme few- 

 flowered. Stems slender, 3-12 in. tall. Leaves few, roundish, 

 small. Damp soil. Blooming chiefly in winter and spring. Fla. 



Lobelia Xalapense. Flowers blue, small. Stems 10-24 in. 

 tall, branched. Leaves roundish, stalked, toothed, about 1 in. 

 long. Damp soil. Blooming chiefly in spring and sum- 

 mer. Fla. 



