Blue Lobelia - Lobelia siphilitica
Above: Blue Lobelia in UW Arboretum's Curtis Prairie in Madison, Wisconsin. Found in boggy area along with Fringed Gentian (9/09/22).
Blue Lobelia - Lobelia siphilitica
Blue Lobelia is a native plant that grows in moist areas like meadows, streambanks, shores, wetlands and swamps.
Growing from 1 to 4 feet tall, Great lobelia has a single ridged, unbranched stem, which is smooth or sparsely hairy.
Blue flowers are irregularly shaped – 5-parted (top lip is 2-parted and lower lip is 3-parted) and about 3/4" - 1" long on a 4" - 12" crowded, spike-like cluster.
Blue Lobelia blooms from August - September.
Other Names: Great Blue Lobelia, Blue Cardinal Flower.
For more information on the Blue Lobelia, visit Wikipedia.
Or, visit the UW-Madison Wisconsin State Herbarium website page about Blue Lobelia - Lobelia siphilitica.
Blue Lobelia
Lobelia siphilitica
Above: Blue Lobelia in UW Arboretum's Curtis Prairie in Madison, Wisconsin (9/9/22).
Above: Blue Lobelia in UW Arboretum's Curtis Prairie in Madison, Wisconsin (9/14/22).
Above: Blue Lobelia in UW Arboretum's Curtis Prairie in Madison, Wisconsin (9/13/22).
Above: This illustration of Great Blue Lobelia comes from William Barton’s Vegetable Materia Medica of the United States circa 1817-1818.
Above: Blue Lobelia specimen collected in Jackson County, Wisconsin (9/14/1992).
Above: Blue Lobelia specimen collected in Portage County, Wisconsin on the bank of a small stream (8/23/1974).
Above: 1913 Blue Lobelia botanical illustration.
Above: Blue Lobelia botanical line drawing from USDA NRCS, Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide to plant species., USDA NRCS National Wetland Team.
