Plants of South Eastern New South Wales

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Lobelia gibbosa

Common name

Tall lobelia

Family

Campanulaceae

Where found

Dry forest, woodland, heath, and disturbed sites. Widespread.

Notes

Annual herb to 0.65 m high, Stems and leaves sometimes fleshy. Stems hairless, often reddish. Leaves few, alternating up the stems, 0.35–7 cm long, 0.2–4 mm wide, usually becoming smaller in size up the stem and often withered at flowering, margins entire. Flowers pale blue or mauve to deep violet, 10–20 mm long, tubular, the tube split almost to the base on the upper side, 2-lipped, the upper lip with 2 short lobes, the lower lip with 3 spreading lobes, the lower middle lobe the longest, 4–11 mm long, 1–3.5 mm wide. Flowers in one-sided, 2–10 flowered elongated clusters. Stalks on individual flowers about 10 mm long. Flowering: October–March.

The tall annual species of Lobelia are best distinguished by their seeds, beyond the scope of this key.

Family was Lobeliaceae.

All native plants on unleased land in the ACT are protected.

PlantNET description:  http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Lobelia~gibbosa (accessed 22 January, 2021)