GARDEN LOBELIA
Lobelia erinus
Bellflower Family [Campanulaceae] 
|
|
Bellflower Family [Campanulaceae]
|
|
status
flower
inner
morph
petals
stem
toxicity
| 5th Aug 2017, Walkden Rly Stn, Greater Manchester. | Photo: © RWD |
| A garden plant which often escapes. Comes in lots of coloured varieties. Here planted in a metal tub on a railway station, but often found in hanging baskets. |
| 17th Sept 2017, Blackleach Country Pk, Walkden, Gtr M/cr. | Photo: © RWD |
| Planted in an exhibit bed. Here the leaves too. |
| 5th Aug 2017, Walkden Rly Stn, Greater Manchester. | Photo: © RWD |
| As yet unopened flower buds plus an open one. |
| 5th Aug 2017, Walkden Rly Stn, Greater Manchester. | Photo: © RWD |
| There are narrow leaf-like bracts just below the flowers and leaves between 8 to 20mm long. |
| 5th Aug 2017, Walkden Rly Stn, Greater Manchester. | Photo: © RWD |
| Colour is quite variable depending upon variety. All have three large tear-shaped lobes al the bottom set about 30° apart on a radial axis but with a tiny point right at the tip on the folding axis. The middle lobe is not quite as wide as the outer two. These corolla lobes are very variable in size, from 3 to 8mm long and 2 to 6mm wide. |
| 5th Aug 2017, Walkden Rly Stn, Greater Manchester. | Photo: © RWD |
| There is a long tubular portion before the petals splay out. The sepal cup is long and tapered to the rear, with 5 very long in relation to their linear-tapering width sepal teeth. There is a hairy rib atop the tubular part just before the petals splay out. There are two much narrower petals above the 3 lower petals. |
| 17th Sept 2017, Blackleach Country Pk, Walkden, Gtr M/cr. | Photo: © RWD |
| The throat of the flower has white markings and two yellow green splodges nearer the throat, this area is raised into a slight rib. The hairy bit can just be seen between the top 2 narrower petals. |
| 5th Aug 2017, Walkden Rly Stn, Greater Manchester. | Photo: © RWD |
| Throat of flower with two initially yellow then white slightly raised ribs coming from the mouth. A few glandular-tipped hairs on petals. The upper corolla lobes (petals) are shaped like flattened baseball bats and are narrower than the lower 3. |
| 15th Aug 2016, a street corner, Conway, North Wales. | Photo: © RWD |
| This specimen in a pavement nook has probably escaped from a hanging basket. The petals are white and shaped a little like a military jet aircraft. |
| 15th Aug 2016, a street corner, Conway, North Wales. | Photo: © RWD |
| The leaves and flowering stems. |
| 15th Aug 2016, a street corner, Conway, North Wales. | Photo: © RWD |
| The reason for the strange angular shapes of the petals is now obvious, on this specimen the edges of the petals have in-rolled (perhaps because of lack of water?). |
| 6th Oct 2007, Wroxhall Heath, IoW. | Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone |
| A real escapee into the wild! |
|
Not to be semantically confused with : Lawn Lobelia (Pratia angulata) [a plant with similar name but belonging in a differing genus, albeit within the same Bellflower Family Campanulaceae] Uniquely identifiable characteristics Distinguishing Feature : Garden Lobelia is an annual plant growing up to 30cm high with rather few flowers per plant. They are usually purplish-blue but can also be white or pinkish. It is widely grown in gardens from where it very frequently escapes, sometimes sown by itself, and found in cracks in pavements, on rough ground or on tips as a throw-out.
|
 Lobelia
|
erinus
|
⇐ Global Aspect ⇒ |
Campanulaceae
|
 Lobelia (Lobelias) |
|
Bellflower Family [Campanulaceae]
|
BSBI maps