Campanulaceae FAMILY Least Concern

Lobelia alsinoides

Edibility

3/5

Medicinal

0/5

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. ]

Botanical Description

Lobelia alsinoides is an erect to decumbent, unbranched to strongly branched annual plant with stems rooting only on the basal portion and not at nodes; it can grow around 5 - 40cm long[ 451 Title Flora Malesiana Series 1 Publication Author Various Website http://www.archive.org Publisher Nationaal Herbarium Nederiand, Universiteit Leiden branch Year 0 ISBN Description A massive treatment of the plants of the Malaysian Archipelago. Much of it has been made available to download from the Internet , 2054 Title The Genus Lobelia L. (Lobeliaceae) in India Publication Indian Journal of Forestry, Vol. 33 (4); 625-634, 2010 Author Singh R.Kr. & Diwakar P.G. Publisher Year 2010 ISBN Description ]. The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food. Lobelia alsinoides is widely distributed, common and without any significant threats. The plant is classified as 'Least Concern' in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species(2013)[ 338 Title IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Publication Author Website http://www.iucnredlist.org/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat. ].

Habitat & Origin

Origintropical

Native RangeE. Asia - India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, southern China (Hainan), Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Malaysia, Indonesia

HabitatShady, moist places near ponds, roadside ditches, streams, riverbanks and cultivated fields; at elevations up to 2,400 metres[ 2054 Title The Genus Lobelia L. (Lobeliaceae) in India Publication Indian Journal of Forestry, Vol. 33 (4); 625-634, 2010 Author Singh R.Kr. & Diwakar P.G. Publisher Year 2010 ISBN Description ]. Paddy fields, by water or among wet grasses in forests, wet places[ 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. ].