Lobelia spicata
| Lobelia spicata | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 4 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 3' |
| Width: | 1' |
| Blooms: | Early Summer-Late Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Medicinal Rating: | |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Lobelia spicata (common name: pale spike)
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 moist soil, succeeding in full sun or partial shade[3][4][1].
Range: Eastern N. America - New Brunswick to Minnesota.
Habitat: Dry mostly sandy soils[5] in fields, meadows, glades and thickets[6].
Medicinal: A tea made from the leaves is emetic[6]. A wash made from the stalks was used to treat neck and jaw sores[6].
A tea made from the root was used in the treatment of trembling limbs - it was applied to scratches made in the limb[6].
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Known Hazards: The plant is potentially poisonous[6]. It contains the alkaloid lobeline which has a similar effect upon the nervous system as nicotine[7].
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ Sanders, Thomas. Popular Hardy Perennials. Collingridge, 1926.
- ↑ Phillips, Roger and Martyn Rix. Perennials - The Definitve Reference. Pan Books, 1991.
- ↑ Britton, Nathaniel and Addison Brown. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada. Dover Publications, 1970.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Foster, Steven and Billy Tatum. Medicinal Plants of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin, 1990.
- ↑ Diggs, George and Barney Lipscomb. Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas. Botanical Research Institute, 1999.