Family

Lobelia.

Colour

Blue or white.

Odour

Scentless.

Range

Florida to South Carolina and westward.

Time Of Bloom

September, October.

Flowers: growing profusely in a close, one-sided raceme with many small bracts. Calyx: of five linear lobes; the sinuses without appendages. Corolla: long, irregularly five-lobed. Stamens: five, the filaments united into a tube. Pistil: one; stigma two-lobed, and about it a ring of hairs. Leaves: scattered; oblong; the lower ones on petioles; the upper ones nearly sessile. Stem: two to four feet high; erect.

In the rich soil of the southern swamps we find this lobelia. If it were colourless we would probably pass it by; but its bright blue or pure white enchain us and we forgive it its happy-go-lucky, ragged, unkempt appearance. We feel quite sure that it has a kind, tender heart.