Phil Bendle Collection:Lobelia erinus (Dwarf blue lobelia)

Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Campanulaceae
Subfamily: Lobelioideae
Genus: Lobelia
Species: L. erinus
Binomial name: Lobelia erinus
Common names: Dwarf blue lobelia, Dwarf Annual Lobelia, Edging Lobelia, Annual Lobelia, Trailing Lobelia, Indian Tobacco. Lobelia. Garden lobelia, Bedding lobelia

Lobelia erinus is a species of Lobelia native to southern Africa, from Malawi and Namibia south to South Africa. It has escaped gardens but it is not a great weed problem because in colder areas it grows as an annual.

Lobelia erinus is a prostrate or scrambling herbaceous plant growing to 8–15 cm tall with fine stems. 
The basal leaves are oval, 10 mm long and 4-8 mm broad, with a toothed margin and are often flushed with a reddish-purple tinge. The leaves higher on the flowering stems are slender and usually have entire margins. 
It flowers from spring to autumn with small pale-centred flowers in loose panicles. The flowers are blue to violet in wild plants. They have a five-lobed corolla that is 1-2 cm across, three are larger and two are smaller. 
The fruit is a 5–8 mm capsule containing numerous small seeds.
There are many varieties of Lobelia erinus.

All parts of this plant are poisonous if ingested by cats, dogs and horses in large quantities due to the alkaloids lobelamine, lobeline, and others, plus a volatile oil. 
Symptoms reported are diarrhoea, vomiting, excessive salivation and drooling. nasal discharge, drooping ears, extended neck, oesophagal irritation, painful and tender abdomen.
Read more at https://wagwalking.com/condition/lobelia-poisoning.  

Thanks to Wikipedia for text and information: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

 

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