Lobelia dortmanna
| Lobelia dortmanna | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |   |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 1' |
| Blooms: | Mid Summer-Late Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Medicinal Rating: | |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Lobelia dortmanna (common name: water lobelia)
Propagation: Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame[1]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Division in spring[1].
Basal cuttings in spring[2]. Harvest the shoots when they are about 10cm long with plenty of underground stem. Pot them up into individual pots and keep them in light shade in a cold frame or greenhouse until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the summer.
Layering in moist sand, it forms roots at the nodes[1].
Cultivation: Succeeds in full sun or light shade[1]. Grows well in heavy clay soils.
Range: Western Europe, including Britain, from Scandanavia to Brittany
Habitat: Stony lakes and tarns with acid water[3].
Medicinal: A tincture of the fresh plant can cure headaches and noises in the ears[4].
The following notes are for L. inflata - this species is said to have similar actions[4].
Indian Tobacco was a traditional North American Indian remedy for a wide range of conditions[5]. Nowadays it is used mainly as a powerful antispasmodic herb in the treatment of respiratory and muscle disorders[5]. Acting also as a respiratory stimulant, Indian Tobacco is a valuable remedy for conditions such as bronchial asthma and chronic bronchitis[5].
The dried flowering herb and the seed are antiasthmatic, antispasmodic, diaphoretic, diuretic, emetic, expectorant and nervine[4][6][7][8][9][10]. The plant is taken internally in the treatment of asthma, bronchitis, whooping cough and pleurisy[11]. This remedy should be used with great caution and only under the supervision of a qualified practitioner[6][7][9]. Excess doses cause nausea, vomiting, drowsiness and respiratory failure[11]. See also the notes above on toxicity.
The plant contains the alkaline 'lobeline' which has proved to be of value in helping people to give up smoking tobacco[6][1][12]. It is contained in many proprietary anti-smoking mixtures where it mimics the effects of nicotine[11].
The alkaloids present in the leaves are used to stimulate the removal of phlegm from the respiratory tract[12]. When chewed, the leaves induce vomiting, headache and nausea - in larger doses it has caused death[12]. The alkaloids first act as a stimulant and then as a depressive to the autonomic nervous system and in high doses paralyses muscular action in the same way as curare[12].
Externally, the plant is used in treating pleurisy, rheumatism, tennis elbow, whiplash injuries, boils and ulcers[11].
The whole plant is harvested when the lower fruits are ripe and it is used fresh or dried[11].
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Known Hazards: Although no specific reports have been seen for this species, most members of this genus contain the alkaloid lobeline which has a similar effect upon the nervous system as nicotine[13]
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ Clapham, Arthur and Tom Tootin, Edmund Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press, 1962.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Chevallier, Andrew. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants. Dorling Kindersley, 1996.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Chiej, Roberto. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald, 1984.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Lust, John. The Herb Book. Bantam Books, 1983.
- ↑ Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Mills, Simon. The Dictionary of Modern Herbalism.
- ↑ Hill, Albert. Economic Botany. The Maple Press, 1952.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 Bown, Deni. Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopaedia of Herbs and Their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, 1995.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Weiner, Michael. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books, 1980.
- ↑ Diggs, George and Barney Lipscomb. Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas. Botanical Research Institute, 1999.