Lobelia sessilifolia
| Lobelia sessilifolia | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 5 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 2' |
| Width: | 1' |
| Blooms: | Late Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Lobelia sessilifolia
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: Requires a wet soil[2].
Range: E. Asia - Japan.
Habitat: Wet places in lowland and mountains all over Japan[3].
Edibility: The buds and young plants are cooked and used as a famine food[4][5]. Caution is advised because they contain a toxic alkaloid[5].
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Known Hazards: The plant contains a toxic alkaloid[5]. It contains the alkaloid lobeline which has a similar effect upon the nervous system as nicotine[6].
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ Ohwi, Jisaburo. Flora of Japan. Smithsonian Institution, 1965.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Read, Bernard. Famine Foods Listed in the Chiu Huang Pen Ts'ao. Taipei Southern Materials Centre, 1977.
- ↑ Diggs, George and Barney Lipscomb. Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas. Botanical Research Institute, 1999.