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Campanulaceae FAMILY

Lobelia tupa

Lobelia tupa

Edibility
0/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

The whole plant is poisonous[ 200 Title The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. Publication Author Huxley. A. Publisher MacMillan Press Year 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5 Description Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed. , 630 Title Botanical Museum Leaflets Vol 28 Publication Author Website http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org Publisher Harvard University; Cambridge, Mass. Year 1981 ISBN Description An article on the Ethnopharmacological uses of plants in northwestern S. America, amongst many other articles. It can be downloaded from the Internet. ]. Ingestion of the latex can result in intestinal distress and bloody diarrhoea[ 2056 Title Revision of Lobelia Sect. Tupa (Campanulaceae: Lobelioideae) Publication Sida 19(1): 87-110, 2000 Author Lammers T.G. Publisher Year 2000 ISBN Description ]. 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. ] Even smelling this plant has been known to cause sickness[ 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 tupa is a robust, perennial plant producing several stems from the base. These stems are hollow, usually unbranched and either herbaceous or somewhat woody; the plant growing around 50 - 300cm tall[ 2056 Title Revision of Lobelia Sect. Tupa (Campanulaceae: Lobelioideae) Publication Sida 19(1): 87-110, 2000 Author Lammers T.G. Publisher Year 2000 ISBN Description ]. The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine. It has potential for use as an ornamental[ 2056 Title Revision of Lobelia Sect. Tupa (Campanulaceae: Lobelioideae) Publication Sida 19(1): 87-110, 2000 Author Lammers T.G. Publisher Year 2000 ISBN Description ].

Habitat & Origin

Origintemperate
Native RangeS. America - southern central Chile.
HabitatRegions of deciduous forest and evergreen temperate rain forest, growing along roadsides, fields, streambanks, grassy slopes and forest margins; at elevations up to 400 metres, occasionally to 940 metres[ 2056 Title Revision of Lobelia Sect. Tupa (Campanulaceae: Lobelioideae) Publication Sida 19(1): 87-110, 2000 Author Lammers T.G. Publisher Year 2000 ISBN Description ].