Lobelia erinus
Encyclopedia
Lobelia erinus is a species of Lobelia
native to southern Africa
, from Malawi
and Namibia
south to South Africa
.
perennial plant
growing to 8–15 cm tall. The basal leaves
are oval, 10 mm long and 4-8 mm broad, with a toothed margin; leaves higher on the stems are slender and sometimes untoothed. The flower
s are blue to violet in wild plants, with a five-lobed corolla 8–20 mm across; they are produced in loose panicle
s. The fruit
is a 5–8 mm capsule
containing numerous small seeds.
in gardens, grown for its long flowering period, from mid spring to early autumn. It is perennial in subtropical climates, but often grown as an annual plant in colder areas. Numerous cultivar
s have been selected for garden use, with a wide range of flower colours, including white, pink, red, pale to dark blue, and purple. Some of the better known cultivars include Blue Moon, Cascade, Gracilis, Crystal Palace, Sapphire, Rosamund and Riviela Rose.
Lobelia
Lobelia is a genus of flowering plant comprising 360–400 species, with a subcosmopolitan distribution primarily in tropical to warm temperate regions of the world, a few species extending into cooler temperate regions...
native to southern Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, from Malawi
Malawi
The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...
and Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
south to South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
.
Description
It is a prostrate or scrambling herbaceousHerbaceous
A herbaceous plant is a plant that has leaves and stems that die down at the end of the growing season to the soil level. They have no persistent woody stem above ground...
perennial plant
Perennial plant
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...
growing to 8–15 cm tall. The basal leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
are oval, 10 mm long and 4-8 mm broad, with a toothed margin; leaves higher on the stems are slender and sometimes untoothed. The flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s are blue to violet in wild plants, with a five-lobed corolla 8–20 mm across; they are produced in loose panicle
Panicle
A panicle is a compound raceme, a loose, much-branched indeterminate inflorescence with pedicellate flowers attached along the secondary branches; in other words, a branched cluster of flowers in which the branches are racemes....
s. The fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
is a 5–8 mm capsule
Capsule (fruit)
In botany a capsule is a type of simple, dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. A capsule is a structure composed of two or more carpels that in most cases is dehiscent, i.e. at maturity, it splits apart to release the seeds within. A few capsules are indehiscent, for example...
containing numerous small seeds.
Cultivation and uses
Lobelia erinus is a very popular ornamental plantOrnamental plant
Ornamental plants are plants that are grown for decorative purposes in gardens and landscape design projects, as house plants, for cut flowers and specimen display...
in gardens, grown for its long flowering period, from mid spring to early autumn. It is perennial in subtropical climates, but often grown as an annual plant in colder areas. Numerous cultivar
Cultivar
A cultivar'Cultivar has two meanings as explained under Formal definition. When used in reference to a taxon, the word does not apply to an individual plant but to all those plants sharing the unique characteristics that define the cultivar. is a plant or group of plants selected for desirable...
s have been selected for garden use, with a wide range of flower colours, including white, pink, red, pale to dark blue, and purple. Some of the better known cultivars include Blue Moon, Cascade, Gracilis, Crystal Palace, Sapphire, Rosamund and Riviela Rose.