Campanulaceae FAMILY

Lobelia chinensis

Edibility

0/5

Medicinal

3/5

Safety & Hazards

Many, if not all, species in the genus Lobelia contain a range of piperidine alkaloids, particularly lobeline and lobelanine. If ingested, these can cause a range of symptoms including nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, salivation, exhaustion and weakness, dilation of pupils, convulsions, and coma. Generally, the degree of toxicity is only moderate and plants are only harmful in larger quantities - indeed several species have medicinal uses and a few are even eaten as wild foods[ 293 Title Poisonous Plants of North Carolina Publication Author Website http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/poison/poison.htm Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An excellent concise but comprehensive guide to toxic plants that grow in N. Carolina. It lists even those plants that are of very low toxicity, including several well-known food plants such as carrots and potatoes. ] This species contains the alkaloid lobeline which has a similar effect upon the nervous system as nicotine[ 274 Title Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas Publication Author Diggs, Jnr. G.M.; Lipscomb. B. L. & O'Kennon. R. J Website http://artemis.austincollege.edu/acad/bio/gdiggs/NCTXpdf.htm Publisher Botanical Research Institute, Texas. Year 1999 ISBN 1-889878-01-4 Description An excellent flora, which is also available on-line. ].

Botanical Description

Lobelia chinensis is a creeping or decumbent perennial plant with slender, branched stems that root at their lower nodes. The plant forms a clump of growth 6 - 30cm tall[ 266 Title Flora of China Publication Author Website http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/ Publisher Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis. Year 1994 ISBN Description An excellent, comprehensive resource in 25 volumes. In addition to the botanical information the flora also gives basic information on habitat and some uses. An on-line version is also available. ]. Although poisonous, this plant is often used in Chinese herbal medicine. It is frequently harvested from the wild and is traded in local markets.

Habitat & Origin

Origintemperate; tropical

Native RangeE. Asia - China, Japan, Korea, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia.

HabitatWet places, especially around paddy fields and in lowland all over Japan. Moist, grassy localities, along water courses and on cultivated land, like rice fields, tea and cinchona plantations, mainly between 500 - 1,600 metres[ 310 Title Plant Resources of Southeast Asia Publication Author Website http://proseanet.org/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia. ].