GREAT LOBELIA 



Corolla. — ^Tubular, irregular, cleft nearly to the base on the upper 

 side, two-lipped; the upper lip cleft between the lobes; lower lip three- 

 lobed. 



Stamens. — Five, united into a tube by their anthers. 



Ovary. — Two-celled; style one; stigma two-lobed, fringed. 



Capsule. — Opening at the summit; many-seeded. 



The Great Blue Lobelia should be in our gardens. It produces 

 a mass of brilliant blue flowers in midsummer; all that it asks in 

 order to do well is good soil, a moist location, and to be let alone. 

 In the wild it will, under favorable circumstances, produce flower 

 spikes over two feet long, and if fed and protected doubtless would 

 do far better. 



In considering the possibilities of otir wild flowers, one should 

 remember that what they achieve of stalk and flower is done under 

 the law of competition; theylive where they must; they accomplish 

 what they can. But relieved from this struggle for existence and 

 placed in the less strenuous environment of the garden, if the 

 essential conditions are congenial, the plant will improve. 



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