LOASA 



|ids, with 5 yellow spots outside. New Grenada. 

 Vl. 6410. I.H. 25:302. R.H. 1894, p. 233. 

 BB. Petals brick-red. 



\ ateritia, Gill. Without stinging hairs : stem scarcely 

 y: Ivs. opposite, long-petioled, pinnatisect; segments 

 rundate, crenately lobed: peduncles twin, 1-fid.. ter- 

 nal, about as long as the leaf: calyx lobes oval. longer 

 an the corolla tube, half shorter than the corolla. 

 lile. The above description is from the original one. 

 much confused plant (see addenda of Ind. Kew 

 ider Loasa and Blumenbachia; also equivocal pas- 

 ftges in Engler & Prantl Pfl. Fam. 3:Ga:118, 119, Lief- 

 ung 100). The stinging vine 10-20 ft. high pictured 

 I B.M. 3G32 as L. lateritia, is a Blumenbachia, of the 

 motion Raphisanthe. L. aitrantlaca, Hort., is usually 

 Hven as a synonym of L. lateritia in botanies, but is 

 < ?pt separate in the trade. 



LOBELIA (Matthias von Lobel, or L'Obel, 1538-1616, 

 Flemish botanist and author. Latinized Lobelius). 

 ^I'Obeliacece (by some combined with the Campanulacece). 

 lore than 200 herbs (or sometimes subshrubs in the 

 opics) of wide distribution in temperate and tropical 

 igions, comprising many species with very showy 

 owers. Corolla gamopetalous and tubular, split down 

 ne side ; lobes 5, the 3 on the lower side (as the fl. 

 tands) somewhat united and forming a lip, the other 2 

 1 on either side of the cleft or split) erect or turned 

 ack ; calyx short-tubular or globular, joined to the 

 vary, short-toothed ; stamens 5, united into a tube 

 round the single style, the tube often protruding from 

 he cleft into the corolla: fr. a 2-valved capsule. The 

 lowers are blue, red or yellowish, on 1-fld. pedicels, which 

 ire arranged in a terminal raceme. Lvs. alternate, 

 nostly narrow. 



There are two horticultural groups of Lobelias, the 

 t-nnuals and the perennials. The annuals are low, nor- 

 mally blue-fld. species suitable for bedding and edgings. 

 They are of the easiest culture either from seeds or 

 cuttings. See L. Erinus (No. 1). The perennials are 

 again of two types, the hardy and the half-hardy or 

 tender. The hardy kinds are natives, of which L. car- 

 iinalis and L. syphilitica are the leading representa- 

 tives. These inhabit bogs and low places, and the best 

 results under cult, are to be expected in moist and 

 cool spots. The half-hardy sorts are chiefly derivatives 

 of the Mexican L. fulgens, a plant which is deservedly 

 popular in the Old World, but which has not attained 

 great favor here. These species may be bedded out in 

 the northern states. They are carried over winter in 

 pots or in a cellar. They usually give good results the 

 first year from seed, if started early; or seeds may be 

 sown in the fall and the plants carried over in a frame. 

 The hardiness of the hybrid perennial Lobelias in this 

 country is yet to be determined. It is probable that 

 forms of L. fulgens will stand outdoors in the middle 

 states if given winter protection. In the latitude of 

 Washington they are hardy in winter but are scarcely 

 able to withstand the summers. 



LOBELIA 



935- 



A. Plant annual (or so treated), low and diffuse- 

 growing. 



B. Beards or hairy tufts on only the two lower anthers. 

 1. Erinus, Linn. (L. heterophi/lla, Hort., sometimes, not 

 Labill. L. grdcilis, Hort., not Andr. L. bicolor, Sims). 

 Figs. 1307-8. Diffuse and half-trailing annual or per- 

 ennial, much used for edgings. Glabrous or slightly 

 hairy below, 6-12 in. high : Ivs. variable, the lower ones 

 obtuse and obovate or spatulate and crenate -toothed, 

 the upper ones oblanceolate or oblong (becoming linear 



1307. Lobelia Erinus.. 

 Natural size. 



and acute near the top of the stem/ and mostly sharp- 

 angle-toothed: fls. %-% in. across, on slender pedicels 

 light blue with a lighter center; the calyx lobes awl- 

 like, spreading, as long as the corolla tube; 3 lower 

 lobes of corolla large and spreading. S. Afr. B.M. 

 514, 901. One of the commonest of all annual edging 

 plants, particularly for early season effects. In our hot 

 climate, it often ceases blooming in midsummer, but 

 with good soil, plenty of water, and occasional cutting 

 back, it will bloom till frost. Seeds 

 sown in January and February will 

 give blooming plants by April and 

 May. For fls. alone, rather than 

 for edgings, the seeds may be 

 started later, or even sown in the 

 open ground. For definite results 

 in edgings, however, it is usually 

 better to start from cuttings. In 

 the fall, lift the best plants and 

 grow them in pots through the 

 winter as stocks from which to se- 

 cure cuttings. Cuttings taken in 

 late January or February should 

 give blooming plants by May. 

 Seedlings vary, and one cannot 

 rely on them for specific effects in design work, although: 

 they may be best for the amateur who desires only fls. 

 Some strains of seeds, however, come very true. Lo- 

 belia Erinus is also a good pot-plant for the winter con- 

 servatory. 



Lobelia Erinus is exceedingly variable. The forms 

 fall into three groups : 



(a) Variation in Jiabit : Var. compacta or ereeta, 

 dense-growing forms suitable for low, close edgings : 

 subvarieties are blue, white, etc. The most popular 

 bedding forms belong to this strain. The name ereeta 

 is often used for the taller strains. Var. gracilis, with 

 slender growth and suitable for vases or baskets : 

 blue. Var. ptimila. Very dwarf. 



(b) Variation in color of foliage: GOLDEN QUEEN 

 and GOLDELSE, with yellowish foliage. Also forms 

 with bronzy foliage, but not constant. 



(c) Variation in color and size of fls.: Var. alba, 

 white. Var. fldre pleno, double. R.H. 1875:71. Var. 

 grandifldra. Various large-fld. forms. Var. Kerme- 

 sina. Crimson. Var. Lindleyaua. Rose-color, with, 

 white eye. Var. marmorata. Fls. marbled. Var. Pax- 

 toniana. Light blue with white eye : growth straggling. 

 Var. Royal Purple. Purple-blue. Var. specidsa. 

 Large-fld., light azure blue, with white eye. Var. 

 tricolor. Fls. blue or pink, with white eye and car- 

 mine spots. 



BB. Beards or hairs on all the anthers. The three fol- 

 lowing species are probably not in the Amer. trade, 

 although they are known as cult, plants. The- 

 names sometimes occur, but the plants which they 

 represent are probably forms of L. Erinus. But. 

 the descriptions will enable the student to distin- 

 guish whether the species occur. 



2. gracilis, Andr. A foot or less high, slender, decum- 

 bent at the base, glabrous: lower Ivs. ovate and deeply 

 cut, the upper ones narrower and pinnatifld (becoming 



1308. Lobelia Erinus. 

 One of the most popular edging plants. 



linear and entire at the top of the stem) : fls. %-% in. 

 across, blue with a whitish eye, the middle lower lobe- 

 strongly obovate, the 2 upper lobes small and curved and 

 usually hairy: fl. -cluster long and open, more or less- 

 1-sided: seed angled, not winged. Austral. B.M. 741.. 



