187 



CLXXV. LOBELIACEiE. 



Campanui-ace^., § 2. R. Broion Prodr. 562. (1810). — LoBELiACEiE, Juss. Ann. Mus. 

 18. 1. (1811); Dec. and Duty, 310. (1828) -^Lindl. Synops. 13?. (1829.) 



Diagnosis. Monopetalous milky dicotyledons, with an inferior ova- 

 rium, an irregular corolla, syngenesious stamens, indefinite ovula, alternate 

 leaves, and oval pollen. 



Anomalies. Clintonia has a triangular 1-celled ovarium, with 2 parie- 

 tal placentae. Some have 5 petals. One species of Lobelia is dioecious. 



Essential Character Calyx superior, 5-lobed, or entire. Corolla monopetalous, 



irregular, inserted in the calyx, 5-lobed, or deeply 5-cleft. Stamens 5, inserted Into the 

 calyx alternately with the lobes of the corolla ; anthers cohering ; pollen oval. Ovariujn 

 inferior, with from 1 to 3 cells ; ovula very numerous, attached either to the axis or the 

 lining; style simple; stigma surrounded by a cup-like fringe. Fruit capsular, 1- or more- 

 celled, many-seeded, dehiscing at the apex. Seeds attached either to the lining or the axis 

 of the pericarpium ; embryo straight, in the axis of fleshy albumen ; radicle pointing to the 

 hilum Herbaceous plants or shrubs. Leaves alternate, without stipulae. Floivers axil- 

 lary or terminal. 



Affinities. Yet more nearly related to Compositse even than Campa- 

 nulace'ce, especially in their cohering anthers and in the irregularity of their 

 corolla, which consists in its being split, so that the segments cohere towards 

 one side just like the 5 segments that make up the ligulate floret of a Com- 

 posita. The stigrha is surrounded by hairs, which are probably analogous 

 to the indusium of Goodenovia?, to which order Lobeliacece approach closely. 

 Of course they participate in any and all the affinities of Campanulaceae. 

 M. Alphonse DecandoUe criticises, with much justice, the character assigned 

 to Lobeliaceae in my Synopsis of the British Flora, particularly in regard to 

 the cup or fringe assigned to their stigma : this was a misprint for cup-like. 

 He is also, perhaps, right in considering Jasionp more properly a Cam^anu- 

 laceous than a Lobeliaceous plant. The genus, however, seems to me to 

 stand upon the limit between the two orders. 



Geography. Unlike Campanulaceae, these seem to prefer countries 

 within or upon the border of the tropics to such as have a colder character. 

 We find them abounding in the West Indies, Brazil, the Cape of Good 

 Hope, and the Sandwich Islands; they are not uncommon in Chile, arid 

 New Holland. 



Properties. All dangerous or suspicious, in consequence of the 

 excessive acridity of their milk. Lobelia tupa yields a dangerous poison 

 in Chile. The most active article of the North American Materia Medica 

 is said to be the Lobelia inflata : it is possessed of an emetic, sudorific, and 

 powerful expectorant effect, especially the first. When given with a view 

 to empty the stomach, it operates vehemently and speedily ; producing, 

 however, great relaxation, debility, and perspiration, and even death, if given 

 in over-doses. Barton, 1. 189. The anti-syphilitic virtues ascribed to 

 Lobelia syphilitica are supposed to have resided in its diuretic property ; 

 they are, however, generally discredited altogether. Ibid. 2. 211. Lobelia 

 longiflora, a native of some of the West India Islands, is one of the most 

 venomous of plants. The Spanish Americans call it Rebenta Cavallos, 

 because it proves fatal to horses that eat it, swelling them until they burst. 

 Taken internally, it acts as a violent cathartic, the effects of which no 

 remedy can assuage, and which end in death. The leaves are an active 

 vesicatory. Lobelia cardinalis is an acrid plant which is reckoned an anthel- 

 mintic. Ibid. 2. 180. 



Examples. Lobelia, Isotoma. 



