LOASA 



bands, with 5 yellow spots outside. New Grenada. 

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

 EB. Petals brick-red. 

 lateritia, Gill. Without stinging hairs: stem scarcely 

 any: Ivs. opposite, long-petioled,pinnatisect; seerments 

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

 minal, about as long as the leaf: calyx lobes oval, longer 

 than the corolla tube, half shorter than the corolla. 

 Chile. The above description is from the original one. 

 A much confused plant (see addenda of Inn. Kew 

 under Lon«a and Bhimnilrichin t n'.n f.;iiivr.n:i! pas- 

 sages in r.Ilu'!.-l- cV I'lvnttl I''' I'"" ■ ^.1!- ii., I.ief- 



erung Inii,. TIm^ slinuiiu .'.-:■■■ : .-rured 



in B.M. :u\::-2 as J.. /.,l, ,■■ -, . a !:.::i... ii ..',, ,, -r the 

 section Kaphisantbr. /.. -' M M:' : .', ll.,ii , i-ii-ually 

 given as a synonym of L. liftt ritia in butanies. but is 

 kept separate in the trade. 



LOBfiLIA (Matthias von Lobel, or L'Obel, 1538-lClG, 

 a Flemish botanist and author. Latinized Lobelius). 

 JJoVeli(tcece (by some combined with the Campamtl<i€ece) . 

 More than 200 herbs (or sometimes subshrubs in the 

 tropics) of wide distribution in temperate and tropical 

 regions, comprising many species with very showy 

 flowers. Corolla gamopetalous and tubular, split down 

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

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

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

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

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

 around the single style, the tube often protruding from 

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

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

 are arranged in a terminal raceme. Lvs. alternate, 

 mostly narrow. 



There are two horticultural groups of Lobelias,— the 

 annuals 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 £. Erinns (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. ear- 

 dinatis 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. Tilt' lialf liardy sorts are chiefly derivatives 

 of the Mi \ii :in / . ' ' ' /' IIS, a plant which is deservedly 

 popular in tlir t'i,| \\ Miid, ijut which has not attained 

 great favM, li.n . ll.c -.• species may be bedded out in 

 the nortliLiu stales. 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 Lolielias 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 thev are hardv in winter but are scarcely 

 able to withstand ( ' 



INDEX. 



alba, 1 c, 6. Goldelse. 1 b. Pastoiiiana 1 



atrosanguinea, 9. Golden Queen, 1 b. perennis, 10, 



bicolor, 1. gracilis, 1, 2. pumila, 1 a. 



cardinalis, 7. grandiflora, 1 c. Queen Victorit 



Cavanillesii. 13. heterophylla, 1, 3, 4. ramosa, 4. 



compacts, 1 a. hybrida, 10. Rivoirei, 12. 



erecta, 1 a. Kalmii, 5. speciosa, 1 c. 



Erinus, 1. Kermesina, 1 c. splendens, 8. 



Feuillei, 14. laxiflora, l:i. syphilitica, 6. 



formosti, 9. Lindleyaiia. 1 e. teuuior, 4. 



fulgens, 0. Lugdunensis.il. tricolor, 1 c. 



Ger: 



Nanseniana, 9. 



glandulosa, 



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

 growing. 

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

 1. Erinus, Linn. (i. heterophylla, Hort., sometimes, not 

 Labill. i. srra'pi/is, Hort., not Andr. L. bicolor, ?,\ms). 

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

 ennial, much used for edgings. Glabrous or slightly 

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

 obtuse and obovate or spatulate and crenate-toothed, 

 the upper ones oblanceolate or oblong (becoming linear 



LOBELIA 935 



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

 angle-toothed: fls. )4-% 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 m the 

 open ground. For definite results 

 in edgings, however, it i^ 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 m 



late January or February should 1307 Lubeha Erinus. 

 give blooming plants by Mai, . N.itui a sui 



Seedlings vary, and one cannot 



rely on them for specific effects in design work, although 

 they may be best for the amateur w ho 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) Varliiiiiin in hnhif : Var. compActa or erecta, 

 dense-gl^|^^ 111 ' li iiii- -nitalile for low, close edgings: 

 subvariitii hite, etc. The most popular 

 bedding fl I ■ this strain. The name (?cecfa 

 is often iisi i| Imf 1 h. mllrr strains. Var. gr&cillB, with 

 slender growth and suitable for vases or baskets : 

 blue. Var. pumila, Very dwarf. 



(b) Variation in color of foliage: Goldek Queen 

 and Goldelse, with yellowish foliage. Also forms 

 with bronzv foliage, but not constant. 



(c) fiirialii.i, in color and size of fls.: Var. Alba, 

 white. Var. flore pl^no, double. R.H. 187.5:71. Var. 

 grandiOora. \'arious large-fld. forms. Var. Kerme- 

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

 white eye. Var. marmor4ta. Fls. marbled. Var. Pax- 

 toniina. Light blue with white eye: growth straggling. 

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

 L.arge-fld., light azure blue, with white eye. Var. 

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

 mine spots. 



BB. Seards 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. gricilis, Andr. Afootorless high, slender, decum- 

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

 out, the upper oues narrower and pinnatifid (becoming 



strongly obovate, the 2 upper lobes small and curved and 

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

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



