LOBELIA. 



edition of Gerarcle, is juHly crlticir.-c! by Rndbeck ; for 

 the gernien is reprefentcd fuperior, the ftamciis totally crro- 

 reoufly, and the corolla by no means wvll. 

 Se£t. 2. Sl^m ereB. Leaves cut or f:rrakd. 

 L. Tupa. Willow-leaved Lobelia. Linn. Sp. PI. l.^lS. 

 (Rapuntium fpicatum, fo"liis acutis, vulgo Tupa; Fcuill. ■ 

 It. V. 2. 7^9. t. 2Q.) — Leaves decurrent, lanceolate, finely 

 ferratcd. "Clufter ipiked. Stem hollow. Fcuillec gathered 

 this plant on the mountains of Chili, in 37 degrees fouth 

 latitude ; (not 65, as in Bot. Mag. 132;.) He fpeaks of 

 it as one of the molt aftive of poifons, the fmell of the 

 flowers caufing fevere vomitings, and theiv.ilk of the plant, 

 if by any accident it touches the eyes, occafioning blindnefs. 

 The root is a foot and a half long, apparently perennial. 

 ^tem as tall as a man, hollow, five-fided, terminating in a 

 fpike of large, blood-red, ftalked flowers, with a hnceo- 

 late braclea at the bafe of each partial ftalk. Leaves de- 

 current for the fpace of z\ inches, the rell of their length, 

 about fevcn inches, elliptic-lanceolate, acute, finely ferrated, 

 minutely downy ; reticulated with veins beneath. Feuillce 

 defcribes the ferralures, but does not figure them. 



L. gigantea. Gigantic Lobelia. Sims in Curt. Mag. 

 t. 1325. (L. Tupa ; Dryand. in Ait. Hort. Kew. ed. 2. 

 •*'• '• 357-) — Leaves feffile, lanceolate, finely ferratcd. 

 Flowers axillary, folitary, ilalked. Stem Ibrubby, folid. 



Our fpecimen of this plant was gathered by Mr Menzies 



near Valparayfo in Chili, in latitude 33A fouth, whence 

 Dr. Brandt is faid alio to have brought feeds to Mcffrs. Lee 

 and Kennedy, in whole confervatory the fhrubbv Jlcm is i j 

 or 16 feet high, folid, and round. Leaves feffile, lanceo- 

 late, more or lefs ferrated, fcarcely reticulated beneath. 

 Flowers dull orange, on fimple, folitary, axillary ftalks, 

 much (liorter than the leaves. Thefe characters have, in 

 our, opinion, jullified Dr. Smis in making it dillinft from 

 the laft, to which it i'eems moreover inferior in virulence. 



L. njfvrgens. Purple Jamaica Lobelia. Linn. Sp. PI. 

 1321. ,,ndr. Repof. t. 553.- Leaves elliptic -lanceolate, 

 taperinjf at both ends, fiiarply toothed, fomewhat decurrent. 

 Clutter compound, terminal, downy — Native of .lamaica. 

 It flowers in the latter part of fummer in our (loves, making 

 a handfome appearance, though its purplifh colour is lols 

 ftriking than the fcarlet of the following. 



L. cardinalis. Scarlet Lobelia. Linn. Sp. PI. 1 3 20. 

 Curt. Mag. t. 330. — Leaves broadly-lanceolate, ferrated. 

 Spike terminal ; the flowers turned one way. — Native of 

 North America. Hardy in our gardens, in a ttrong moid 

 foil, flowering in Augull and September. The root is pe- 

 rennial, temj three feet high, leafy. Flowers of a moill 

 rich and vivid fcarlet. 



L. urens. Acrid Lobelia. Linn Sp. PI. 1321. Curt. 

 Ijond. fafc. 6. t. 63. Engl. Bot. t. 953 — Stem nearly crcft. 

 Lower leaves obovate, finely toothed ; upper lanceolate, 

 ferrated. Flowers racemofc, — Native of France, Spain, 

 and fome few parts of Devonfliire, on gravelly bufhy com- 

 mons. This is perennial, fl-iwering in Auguft and Septem- 

 ber. Its habit is (lender, delicate, and fmooth. Stem 18 to 

 24 inches high, milky. Leaves icattered. Flowers fmall, 

 blue, numerous, in long weak clutters. Segments of the 

 talyx bniile-fiiaped, rough, as long as the tube of the 

 flower. 



Seft. 3. Stem mofi'y decumbent, heaves fomewhat cut. 

 L. Laurentia. Italian Annual Lobeha. Linn. Sp PI. 

 1321. (Laurentia annua minima, flore cacruleo ; Mich. 

 Gen. 18. t. 14.) — Stem prottrate. branched. Leaves lan- 

 ceolate-oval, crenate. Stalks folitary, axillary, fingle-flow- 

 ered, very long. —Native of Italy. A little delicate annual 

 fpeciej, fcnt to Kew in *778, by M. Tki^in. It t)lof- 



fomed in the green-houfc ki July, The fowert are blue, 

 very minute. 



Lfetacca. Briflle-ttalked Lobelia. Sm. Prodr. Fl. Gric. 

 Sibth. V 7. 145. Fl. Grxc. ined. t. 221. (L. tenella ; 

 Bivon. Cent. I. 53. t. 2.) — Radical leaves fpatulate, wavy ; 

 thofe of the ftem brill le-flispcd. Stems perfedlly fimple, 

 fingle-flowered, ercft. — Native of boggy places in Crete, 

 Cyprus, and Sicily. Root annual. Leaves fpatulate, on 

 long (lender radical ftalks, obtufe, wavy, fmooth, fomewhat 

 like thofe of a daify. The little (lender Jlems bear two 

 fmall brittle-like leaves, and one elegant blue flower. The 

 ftems appear to be ereft, but on account of the ciofe afiinity 

 of the prefent fpecies to L. Latireiitia, they cannot be c'.if- 

 ioined. They are indeed confounded by Willdenow, a;:d 

 by Boccone ki his t. 27, where both are well drawn, a» 

 one fpecies. Our felacca is Rapuntium creticum minimum, 

 bellidis folio, flore maculato ; Tourn. Cor. 9. 



L. Ititea. Yellow Lobelia. Linn. Sp. PI. 1322. Curt. 

 Mag. t. 1 3 19. — Stems afccnding. Leaves lanceolate, fer- 

 rated. Flowers reverfed, in fliort fpikes. — Native of the 

 Cape of Good Hope. It flowers here in the groen-houfe, 

 and is remarkable for its golden _,^5Wi-;-x, ' whofe pofition. as 

 Dr. Siins oblervcs, is reverfed, their tube very (hort, and the 

 polture of their two fmaller fegments, arched over the 

 (lamens, very peculiar. 



Numerous new fpecies ef Lobelia are to be added to 

 Willdenow's lift, from the difcoveries in New Holland. 

 Thefe are ufually of a fmooth delicate habit. See Labillar- 

 diere, t. 71 — 74, and Brown's Prodromus, v. i. ^62. The 

 latter defines 20 fpecies from that cosntry, none of them in 

 Willdenow. 



LoBEJLi.v, in Gardening, comprehends plants of the 

 herbaceous and under-flirnbby perennial kind, of which the 

 fpecies ufually cultivated are the fcarlet lobelia, or cardi- 

 nal's flower (L. cardinalis ;) the blue lobelia, or car- 

 dinal's flower (L. (iphilitica ;) the long-flowered lobelia 

 (L. longiflora;) the pine-leaved lobelia (L. pinifolia ;) 

 and the bladder-podded lobelia (L. inflata.) 



Method of Culture. — The firft and fecond kinds may be 

 increafed by feed, cuttings of their ftalks, and parting the 

 roots. The feeds fliould be fown in autumn, or early in 

 fpring, in a warm border, or in pots or boxes, fo as to be 

 moved to different fituatioos in different feafons, to have 

 fhelter from froft, and (bade from the mid-day fun in fum- 

 mer. Thofe fown in autumn generally come up more freely 

 the following fpring than thofe which are fown in that fea- 

 fon. They fliould havp (belter in hard ("rolls, either under 

 a frame or awning of mats, but' be fi:lly expofed in railj 

 weather, giving occafional waterings in the fpring and funi- 

 mer. When the plants have attained two or three inches 

 growth, they (hould he pricked out in feparate fmall pots of 

 rich earth, giving water, and placing them in the (hadt till 

 frefh rooted, repeating the waterings occafionally in hot 

 dry weather, and (hifting them into larger pots as they may 

 require ; in winter moving them into a frame to have occa- 

 fional fiieltcr from inclement weather ; and in the fpring 

 following fome of them luay be turned out into the full ground 

 about March, when they vvill flower the enfuing fummer. 

 Some (Iiould alfo be retained in pots to be moved under (bel- 

 ter in winter, as a refcrve in cale thofe in tlie open air (hould 

 be killed by the frort. 



And as the plants generally flower in the greateft per- 

 fcftion the firft and fccond year of their blowing, it is proper 

 to raife a new fupply of them every year or two in order 

 to have them flower in the utmoft perfection eveity year. 



Where the fecond mode is in ufe, the cuttings of the young 

 ftalks (hould be divided into lengths of five or fix inches, 



and 



