Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Campanulids: Asterales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA (4/24/22):
Lobelia inflata
FAMILY
Campanulaceae
NEW! Click to go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Indian-tobacco at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Lobelia inflata
FAMILY
Campanulaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 178-06-008:
Lobelia inflata
FAMILY
Campanulaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Lobelia inflata
COMMON NAME:
Indian-tobacco, Pukeweed
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_loin_001_lvd
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JK Marlow jkm220510_7759
May Greenville County SC
Bald Rock Heritage Preserve
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JK Marlow jkm220626_8675
June Greenville County SC
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JK Marlow jkm220626_8676
June Greenville County SC
Lower flowers with ovate-leafy bracts, per Weakley's Flora (2022).
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JK Marlow jkm0407y_07
July Greenville County SC
Stem hairy and often branched, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains.
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JK Marlow jkm120704_436b
July Greenville County SC
Ashmore Heritage Preserve
Bracts longer than the pedicels. Calyx lobes linear, 2-7mm long, entire, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas.
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JK Marlow jkm190702_9596
July Greenville County SC
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JK Marlow jkm190702_9598
July Greenville County SC
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JK Marlow jkm190726_0151
July Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
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JK Marlow jkm190726_0153
July Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
The calyx becomes inflated in fruit, per Newcomb's Wildflower Guide.
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JK Marlow jkm120804_132b
August Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
Leaves mostly sessile, 2-3" long, ovate, with toothed margins, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians.
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Keith Bradley kab_lobelia_inflata_2910
August Macon County NC
Nantahala National Forest
Flowers in leafy racemes; corolla tube 2-4mm long, longest lobes 2.5-4mm long, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas.
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JK Marlow jkm0410k_19
October Greenville County SC
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JK Marlow jkm211027_4610
October Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
WEAKLEY'S FLORA (4/24/22):
Lobelia inflata
FAMILY
Campanulaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Lobelia inflata
FAMILY
Campanulaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 178-06-008:
Lobelia inflata
FAMILY
Campanulaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Lobelia inflata
854
Forb
Annual
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common in Mountains & NC Piedmont, rare elsewhere in GA-NC-SC
Habitat: Fields, meadows, gardens, open woodlands, disturbed areas, per Weakley's Flora
NEW! Click here to see a map from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US showing range and abundance.
Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)
DOES THE PLANT HAVE "MILKY SAP"?
Has milky sap (latex)
LEAVES:
Simple
Alternate
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
Blue-violet/ Bluish-white
Bisexual
Bilaterally symmetrical
5-lobed calyx
2-lipped 5-lobed corolla
5 stamens, completely united
Flowers in a terminal raceme
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- All About South Carolina Wildflowers p195
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers p128
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC p150
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide p052
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast p401
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States P103
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition p245
- Wildflowers of Tennessee p257
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians p300
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains p170