Nuttall's Lobelia

(Lobelia nuttallii)

 

Color Photograph: © by and courtesy of G.A. Cooper, Smithsonian Institution

Line Drawing: Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada, Second Edition.

Nuttall's Lobelia (Lobelia nuttallii)

Identification: Flowers typical of the lobelias with 5 petals fused into a basal tube. Three lower petal lobes projecting downward. Upper 2 petals curled upward. Flowers small, blue, with a white center and 2 small, green spots at the base of the lower lip. Flowers arising along stem from the leaf axils. Flowering stalks (pedicels) usually shorter than the flower. Upper leaves elongate, grasslike, with smooth outer margins. Lower leaves spatulate. Plant 8 to 30 inches in height.

Distribution: New York and Pennsylvania in the north to Florida and Louisiana in the south, westward to Kentucky.

Habitat: Nuttall's Lobelia is found on sandy soil.

Flowering period:  July to October.

Nuttall's Lobelia (Lobelia nuttallii)

Similar Species:

Brook Lobelia (Lobelia kalmii)

 

Similar Species