250 THE LADIES' FLOWER-GARDEN 
be the offspring of Lobelia fulgens and L. coerulea, and to have been raised iu a garden in Ireland. Whatever 
ita origin may have been, it is a very handsome and desirable plant, and that if its parents were a blue and a 
scarlet Lobelia, that it has mixed their colours completely, as it is of a rich dark purple. Among the synonymes 
given to this plant in the Botanical Magazine is L. Milleri ; but this plant, which is well known to be a hybrid 
between L. syphilatica and L. cardinalis, is a very different plant from L. speciosa, as it has completely the 
habit of L. syphilatica, though its flowers are purple, whereas the flowers of L. speciosa resemble those of L 
fulgens, both in habit of growth and shape. 
C— LOBELIA CARDINALIS, Lin. THE SCARLET LOBELIA. 
Synonvmes.— Rapuntium galcatum, Morr, ; Trachelium Ameii- 
caDUm, Park. ; the cardinal's flower. 
EsGRAviNO. — Bot. Mag. t. 320. 
Variety. — L. c. /S. Milleri, Sweet's Brit. Flow. Gard. 2d ser. 
t. 372. 
Specific Character. — Stem erect ; leaves broadly lanceolate, scr- 
^ rated ; raceme terminal, partly secund. 
Description, &c. — This very beautiful species of Lobelia is a native of Canada, as well as of the warmer 
parts of North America, and when it was discovered in that country it was sent to the beautiful Henrietta 
Maria, Queen of Charles I., who being a French princess, and passionately attached to her own country, no 
doubt liked it the better, from Canada being at that period a settlement of France. It is .said that when the 
Queen saw it she laughed excessively, and said that its colour reminded her of the scarlet stockings of a cardinal, 
whence the learned botanist Parkinson called it the cardinal's flower in his Paradise, a work which he afterwards 
published and dedicated to her Majesty. This plant, having been introduced in 1629, is the oldest Lobelia in 
our gardens, and it is also the hardiest, for it will grow in almost any soil and situation that is not too dry. It 
does best, however, in a stiff moist soil, and when it is taken up and replanted every three or four years. It 
flowers from the latter end of July till October. It is generally increased by dividing the roots, though it will 
grow freely from cuttings ; or it may be raised from seeds, of which it ripens abundance in favourable autumns. 
7.— LOBELIA SYPHILATICA, Lin. THE BLUE AMERICAN LOBELIA. 
Enohavings. — Bot. Reg. t. 537 ; and onr fig. 4 in PI. 66. I but unequally serrated ; flowers axillary, solitary ; segments of the 
Specific Charactek. — Stem erect ; leaves ovate, oblong, acutely | calyx reflexed at the edge ; peduncles hairy. 
Desckiption, &c. — This was the second species of Lobelia brought to England, having been introduced in 
1665 ; and as it was easily recognised it belonged to the same genua as L. cardinalis, it received on its first 
introduction the somewhat anomalous name of the blue cardinal. It is, however, very different from L. 
cardinalis, both in the habit of its growth and the shape of its flowers ; but it is found in nearly the same 
localities, always growing on the bank of a river or near a spring. It is said to be in great repute among the 
Indians for its medicinal virtues, and it acts as a violent emetic, but it is considered dangerous. It is a coarse 
weedy-growing plant, abounding in milky juice, and it has a disagreeable smell. The root, which is the part 
used medicinally, tastes like tobacco. It will grow freely in any strong moist soil. 
8.— LOBELIA COLORATA, D. Don. THE COLOURED OR RED-LEAVED LOBELIA. 
Engraving.— Sweet's Biit. Flow. Gard. 2d. ser. t. 180. ; and our I late, acuminate, erosely dentate. Raceme spicate, leafy. Peduncles 
Jig. 3, in rl. o5. . naked. Segments of the calyx linear-subulate, recurved at the margin. 
Specific Character. — The whole plant is smooth. Leaves lancco- I 
Description, &c.— The stems of this species are upright and simple, and though not thicker than an 
ordinary goose-quill, they grow from four to five feet high. The leaves are very peculiar ; they are of a deep 
