The Lobelia, 289 



LOBELIA— THE LOBELIA. 



Natural Order, Lobeliacea ; Linnaean System, Pentandria, Monogynia. 

 Generic Distinctions :— Tube of the calyx adhering to the ovary ; limb free, 

 five-cleft; corolla irregular, tubular, cleft on the upper side, thickened or 

 veolricose at the base; limb, five-parted, bilabiate; the upper lip in two 

 narrow segments ; the lower lip in three roundish segments ; anthers 

 uuited above into a curved tube ; stigma two-lobed ; capsule opening at 

 the apex ; seeds small. 



I. fulgens.— Simple, erect, somewhat pubescent. Leaves elongately lan- 

 ceolate, attenuated, nearly entire. Raceme many-flowered. Style and 

 stamens longer than the corolla. — PL 39. 



This genus was named in honor of M. Lobel, a distin- 

 guished botanist. He was born at Lisle, in 1538, wrote seve- 

 ral valuable works, particularly one entitled Icones Plantarum, 

 became physician and botanist to James L, and died in Lon- 

 don, in 1616. The irregular bilabiate flowers are not easily 

 mistaken for those of any other genus. Several of the Lobe- 

 lias are very highly prized, and much cultivated by florists, 

 especially L. fulgens, L. splendens, and L. cardinalis. The 

 two former species greatly resemble each other. The princi- 

 pal points of difference are, that L. fulgens is covered with a 

 fine down, and its flowers are of a lighter and more brilliant 

 scarlet than those of the other. Both species are natives of 

 Mexico, and were introduced more than thirty years ago into 

 England, where they are much cultivated. They both require 

 a great abundance of water, and may be planted to advantage 

 •by the side of a pond where their roots can have access to 

 plenty of moisture. L. cardinalis, called in New England, 

 Eyebright, is one of our most elegant and showy native plants. 

 It is not uncommon in wet soils, near brooks and ponds, and 

 puts forth from July to the middle of September its superb 

 flowers, of a hue so intense as almost to dazzle the eye. In 

 favorable circumstances, the raceme of this plant will become 

 nearly two feet long, and produce nearly a hundred flowers. 

 It is a shame that the Cardinal-flower, so much esteemed and 

 so carefully cultivated in England, is not oftener seen in Amer- 

 ican gardens. It costs the cultivator nothing, and the plant 

 Vol. I.— 19. 



