506 



THE CAMPANULA FAMILY. 



The Trachellum cceruleum, a south European plant of early culti- 

 vation in our flower-gardens, belongs to the same family ; and the 

 Australian Goodenias, Sccevolas, and other allied plants, often seen in 

 our greenhouses, form a small family, which may almost be considered 

 as a tribe of Campanulacece. 



I. LOBELIA. LOBELIA. 



Flowers in terminal racemes, usually leafless or nearly so. Corolla 

 very irregular, more or less cleft on the upper side, with 5 lobes usually 

 forming two lips ; the 2 upper lobes smallest, and erect or recurved ; 

 the 3 lower ones spreading, and less deeply divided. Anthers united 

 in a tube round the style, often hairy, or the 2 lower ones bearded at 

 the top. 



A numerous genus, widely spread over the globe, and yet wanting 

 in the greater part of the continent of Europe and northern Asia. 

 Several North American species, with brilliant scarlet or purple flowers, 

 as well as Cape or Australian ones with blue flowers, are much culti- 

 vated in our gardens. 



Aquatic plant. Flowers drooping 1. Water L. 



Heath plant. Flowers erect 2. Acrid L. 



1. Water Lobelia. Lobelia Dortmanni, Linn. (Fig. 604.) 

 (Eng. Bot. t. 140.) 



An aquatic perennial, with tufts of 

 nearly cylindrical, hollow, radical leaves, 

 1 to 2 inches long, forming a dense green 

 carpet at the bottom of the water, each 

 tuft proceeding from a small thick stock, 

 with filiform creeping runners. Flower- 

 ing-stems erect and simple, rising about 

 6 or 8 inches above the surface of the 

 water, almost leafless. Flowers pale 

 blue, 6 or 7 lines long, drooping, in a 

 simple, loose terminal raceme. 



In the shallow parts of the lakes of 

 northern Europe and America. Com- 

 mon in the lakes of Scotland and Ire- 

 land, and, in the West of Great Britain, 

 descending as far south as Shropshire 

 and South Wales. Fl. summer. 



Fig. 604. 



