4 



LOB 



THE UNIVERSAL HERBAL; 



LOB 



plunged into the tan-bed in the stove ; but if it be in the spring 

 or summer, they' may be plunged into a hot-bed in the com- 

 mon frames. These seeds, when sown in the spring, seldom 

 grow the same year; therefore, the following autumn, the 

 pots should be removed into the stove, and managed according 

 to the above directions. 



18. Lobelia Tomentosa; Downy Lobelia. Straight, tomen- 

 tose; leaves linear, toothed; peduncles terminating, very 

 long, one or two flowered. Native of the Cape of Good 

 Hope. See the thirty-eighth species. 



19. Lobelia Secunda. Upright, smooth ; lower leaves 

 oblong, toothed; upper lanceolate, entire ; peduncles racemed, 

 directed one way. Native of the Cape of Good Hope. See 

 the twenty-fifth species. 



SO. Lobelia Assurgens; Tree Lobelia. Leaves broad-lan- 

 ceolate, serrate, toothletted, and decurreut below ; racemes 

 compound, terminating; root perennial; stem herbaceous, 

 three or four feet high ; flowers numerous, heaped, blood-red, 

 very large. Native of the cooler mountains of Jamaica. For 

 its propagation and culture, see the sixteenth species. 



21. Lobelia Patula; Spreading Lobelia. Herbaceous, 

 diffused, virgate, smooth : leaves ovate-toothed ; peduncles 

 lateral. Native of the Cape of Good Hope. See the thirty- 

 fourth species. 



22. Lobelia Acuminata ; Pointed-leaved Lobelia. Stem 

 upright, suftruticose ; leaves lanceolate, attenuated, serru- 

 late; raceme terminating, many-flowered; flowers yellow. 

 Native of the lower shady hills of Jamaica. For its propaga- 

 tion and culture, see the seventeenth species. 



23. Lobelia Stricta. Stem sufFruticose ; lower leaves ovate- 

 lanceolate, smooth, toothletted, and prickly at the edge; 

 raceme terminating, spiked.- Native of'the island of Guada- 

 loupe. See the seventeenth species. 



24. Lobelia Cardinalis ; Scarlet Lobelia, or Cardinal's Flower. 

 Stem upright, herbaceous ; leaves oblong-lanceolate, serrate, 

 somewhat villose; flowers in a sort of spike ; calices smooth; 

 segments quite entire. The stalk is terminated by a spike or 

 raceme of flowers of an exceedingly beautiful scarlet colour. 

 They appear at the end of July and in August, when they 

 make a fine appearance for a month or more; and, when the 

 autumn proves favourable, they will produce good seeds here. 

 It grows naturally by the side of rivers and ditches in North 

 America. Both this and the next are propagated by seeds, 

 which, when they ripen in England, should be sown in autumn 

 in pots filled with rich kitchen-garden earth, and placed 

 under a common hot-bed frame; or, if the seeds come from 

 their native countries, sow them as soon as they arrive, for 

 if kept out of the ground till spring, they will lie a year in 

 the earth before they will vegetate. The pots in which these 

 seeds are sown should be exposed to the open air at all times 

 in mild weather, and screened from hard rain and frost. In 

 the spring, the plants will appear. They must have fresh air 

 in mild weather, and be refreshed with water in dry seasons. 

 As soon as they are fit to remove, let each be planted in a 

 small pot, filled with the same rich earth, and placed in the 

 shade till they have taken new root ; then they may be set so 

 as to enjoy the morning sun till autumn. Water them during 

 the dry weather in summer, and when their roots have rilled 

 the small pots, remove them into larger. In autumn, put them 

 under a common frame to screen them from winter frost, taking 

 care that they have fresh air in fine weather. Next spring, new 

 pot them, placing them in the morning sun, and taking care to 

 water them in dry weather, which will cause their stalks to 

 be stronger and produce larger spikes of flowers in August. 

 There are many who propagate them by cutting their stalks 

 into proper lengths, which they plant in pots fi|led with good 



earth, or into an east border, covering them close with glasses. 

 They frequently take root, but are not so good as seedlings. 



25. Lobelia Siphilitica ; Blue Lobelia, or Cardinal Flower. 

 Stem upright; leaves ovate-lanceolate, subserrate ; sinuses 

 of the calix reflex ; root perennial ; stem from a foot to two 

 feet in height; flowers axillary, solitary, numerous, large: 

 corolla blue, varying in shades from a rich violet to a pale 

 blue. It flowers from August to October, and is a native of 

 Virginia. Every part of the plant abounds with a milky 

 juice, and has a rank smell. The root, which is the part 

 prescribed for medical use, resembles tobacco in taste, and 

 tends to excite vomiting. It derives its trivial name from its 

 efficacy in the cure of siphilis, as experienced by the North 

 American Indians, with whom it was a secret. Sir William 

 Johnson purchased the secret ; which has been published, 

 and is as follows: A decoction is made of a handful of the 

 roots in three measures of water. Of this, half a measure is 

 taken in the morning fasting, and repeated in the evening : 

 the dose is gradually increased till the purgative effects become 

 too violent, when it is to be omitted for a day or lw<>, and 

 then renewed, till a perfect cure is effected. During the use 

 of this medicine, a proper regimen is enjoined ; and the ulcers 

 also are to be frequently washed with the decoction, or, if 

 deep and foul, to be sprinkled with the powder of the inner 

 bai k of the New Jersey Tea Tree, (see Cennothus Americanus.) 

 But although this plant is said to cure the disease in a very 

 short time, its virtues have not been confirmed by any instances 

 of European practice. For its propagation and culture, see 

 the preceding species. 



26. Lobelia Lactescens. Shrubby : leaves smooth, ellip- 

 tic-lanceolate, serrate ; peduncles axillary, solitary, without 

 bractes ; calices smooth. Native of St. Helena. 



27. Lobelia Surinamensis. Suffruticose : leaves oblong, 

 serrate, smooth; peduncles axillary, solitary, bracted at the 

 base; calices torulose. It flowers in April. Native of the 

 West Indies. See the seventeenth species. 



28. Lobelia Inflata ; Bladder-podded Lobelia. Stem 

 upright; leaves ovate, subserrate, longer than the peduncle; 

 capsules inflated; flowers small; corolla light blue. Native 

 of Virginia and Canada. Sow the seeds in autumn, in pots 

 filled with rich earth, and treat the plants in the same way 

 as above directed under the twenty-fourth species. 



29. Lobelia Cliffbrtiana ; Purple Lobelia. Stem upright; 

 leaves cordate, even, obsoletely toothed, petioled ; corymb 

 terminating; flowers small, purplish. Native of America. 

 When the seeds are permitted to scatter on pots which stand 

 near them, and these are sheltered from frosts, the plants will 

 come up plentifully in the following spring : or if they be 

 be sown in pots in autumn, and sheltered in winter, the plants 

 will rise in the following spring ; and should be transplanted 

 into small pots, placed under a frame. 



30. Lobelia Urens; Stinging Lobelia. Stem upright, 

 smooth, angular ; leaves lanceolate, toothed, smooth ; racemes 

 spike-shaped ; calicine segments awl-shaped, even ; corolla 

 bright blue. The whole plant is milky, of a warm taste, and 

 the root, especially if chewed, excites a pungent sense of 

 burning in the tongue. Native of France, Spain, and Eng- 

 land : it has been found on Shute Common, between Axmin- 

 ster and Honiton, flowering in July and August. Sow the 

 seeds in autumn, on a warm border, or in pots filled with 

 loamy earth, and placed under a common frame in winter. 

 When they come up in the spring, transplant them into a 

 border of soft loamy earth, or into other pots, shading them 

 till they have taken new root, and duly watering them in dry 

 weather, which will cause them to flower strong, and produce 

 good seds annually. 



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