Campanulaceae FAMILY

Lobelia inflata

Edibility

0/5

Medicinal

3/5

Safety & Hazards

Some reports say that the plant is poisonous[ 7 Title Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. Publication Author Chiej. R. Publisher MacDonald Year 1984 ISBN 0-356-10541-5 Description Covers plants growing in Europe. Also gives other interesting information on the plants. Good photographs. , 14 Title Complete Guide to Herbs. Publication Author Holtom. J. and Hylton. W. Publisher Rodale Press Year 1979 ISBN 0-87857-262-7 Description A good herbal. , 19 Title Poisonous Plants. Publication Author Stary. F. Publisher Hamlyn Year 1983 ISBN 0-600-35666-3 Description Not very comprehensive, but easy reading. ], whilst another says that toxicity has not been established[ 165 Title The Dictionary of Modern Herbalism. Publication Author Mills. S. Y. Publisher Year ISBN Description An excellent small herbal. ]. 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 inflata is an annual plant with erect, branched stems; it can grow up to 100cm tall[ 277 Title Plants Database Publication Author Website http://plants.usda.gov/java/factSheet Publisher United States Department of Agriculture Year 0 ISBN Description An online database with an excellent collection of fact sheets about native N. American plants. ]. The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine and source of materials. It is sometimes cultivated as a medicinal plant and is traded to various countries[ 2022 Title Indian Medicinal Plants; An Illustrated Dictionary Publication Author Khare C.P. (Ed.) Publisher Springer-Verlag Berlin/Heidelberg Year 2007 ISBN 978-0-387-70637-5 Description ].

Habitat & Origin

Origintemperate

Native RangeCentral and eastern N. America - Ontario to Quebec, south to Louisiana and Georgia

HabitatMeadows, fields, roadsides, waste places and open woods[ 19 Title Poisonous Plants. Publication Author Stary. F. Publisher Hamlyn Year 1983 ISBN 0-600-35666-3 Description Not very comprehensive, but easy reading. , 43 Title Gray's Manual of Botany.Eighth Edition Publication Author Fernald. M. L. Publisher American Book Co.; New York Year 1950 ISBN 0442222505 Description A bit dated but a good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America. ]. Usually in dry soils[ 235 Title An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada Publication Author Britton. N. L. Brown. A. Publisher Dover Publications. New York. Year 1970 ISBN 0-486-22642-5 Description Reprint of a 1913 Flora, but still a very useful book. ].