242 LOBELIACEJE. (LOBELIA FAMI1Y.) 



top. Pod 2-cellod, many-seeded, opening at the top. Flowers axillary or 

 chiefly in bracted racemes. (Dedicated to Lobel, an early Flemish herbalist.) 



# Flowers deep red, large : stem simple. 



1. L. cardinalis, L. (CARDINAL-FLOWER..) Tall (2 -4 high), 

 smoothish ; leaves oblong-lanceolate, slightly toothed ; raceme elongated, rather 

 1 -sided; the pedicels much shorter than the leaf-like bracts. Low grounds; 

 common. July -Oct. Perennial by offsets, with largo and very showy in- 

 tensely red flowers, rarely varying to rose-color! (Plymouth, Mr. Gilbert), 

 or even to white ! 



* * Flowers blue, or blue variegated with white. 



*- Stems leafy to the top, simple (l-3 high) : leaves oblong or ovate-lanceolate: 

 sinuses of the calyx with conspicuous deflexed auricles : Jlowers crowded in a long 



or 



2. Li. sypllilitica, L. (GREAT LOBELIA.) Somewhat hairy ; leaves thin, 

 acute at both ends (2' -6' long), irregularly serrate ; flowers (nearly 1' long) pedi- 

 celled, longer than the leafy bracts } calyx hirsute, the lobes half the length of 

 the corolla, the short tube hemispherical, ty Low grounds; common. Aug., 

 Sept. Flowers light blue, rarely white. 



3. I*, puberilla, Michx. Finely soft-pubescent ; leaves thicJcish, obtuse (!'- 

 2' long), with small glandular teeth ; spike rather 1 -sided ; calyx-lobes (and ovate 

 bracts) little shorter than the corolla, the hairy tube top-shaped. Ij. Moist grounds, 

 New Jersey to Ohio and southward. Aug. Corolla bright blue, ' long. 



4. L,. leptopstacliy, A. DC. Smooth above ; leaves obtuse^ denticulate, 

 oblong-lanceolate, the upper gradually reduced to awl-shaped bracts ; raceme 

 spike-like, long and dense ; lobes of the calyx nearly equalling the corolla, the 

 auricles in the form of 10 awl-shaped appendages as long as the hemispherical tube. 

 1|. Sandy soil, Illinois and southward. July, Aug. Corolla 3" -4" long. 

 i- -t- Stems leafy, mostly simple (l-2^ high) : leaves lanceolate or oblong-lanceo- 

 late : calyx-tube hemispherical, the sinuses destitute of auricles : Jlowers. pretty large 

 ('!' long) and showy, in a loose nearly I -sided raceme: anthers sometimes beard- 

 ed on the back. 



5. Lu glaildlllosa, Walt. Sparingly hairy or pubescent ; leaves, bracts, 

 and usually the lobes of the calyx strongly glandular-toothed; calyx-tube densely 

 hispid, rarely sparsely so, or smoothish. IJ. Moist places, Virginia and south- 

 ward. Aug., Sept. 



6. TLi. amcena, Michx. Glabrous (rarely minutely pubescent) ; leaves 

 and bracts scarcely glandular-toothed ; calyx-lobes entire and slender. 1J. Shady 

 moist places, Virginia and southward. Sept. 



-*-- Stems leafy : calyx-tube ovoid or tapering to an acute base, no auricles or ap- 

 pendages at the sinuses: Jlowers small (i'-' long), racemed. 

 ** Paniculately much branched: racemes leafy : root annual or biennial. 



7. It. inflata, L. (INDIAN TOBACCO.) Somewhat pubescent (9'- 18' 

 high) ; leaves oblong or ovate-lanceolate, toothed ; lobes of the calyx equalling 

 the corolla (2" -3" long), the tube and the inflated pod ovoid. D*y open soil; 

 common. July- Sept. A virulent poison and quack medicine. 



