Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume X.djvu/565

 LOBELIA. LOBLOLLY BAY 559 soil is rich and loamy ; in sandy soil it soon runs out. Another showy species, found in similar localities, is the great lobelia, L. syphi- litica, so named because the Indians attributed medicinal qualities to it ; this is a tall species with large blue flowers, but it is not so showy as the other, the flower spike being leafy. These species have been hybridized, and with the intermixture of other species have pro- duced a number of fine garden varieties, bear- ing florists' names, which present a great range of color, and some of them are handsomely variegated. The Indian tobacco, L. inflata, is the most noted of our lobelias, on account of its medicinal activity, and the controversies to which its employment has given rise ; it is an annual, 6 to 18 in. high, and much branched, the branches bearing numerous small blue flow- ers ; the pod has an inflated appearance, which is recognized in its specific name, and contains numerous very small seeds. This species has a wide range, and is often common in sandy soil ; it is known in some parts of the country as eye- bright. It contains, a peculiar, volatile liquid alkaloid, lobelina, and lobelic acid. This herb is a violent emetic, its action being attended with continued and distressing nausea and great general prostration. It has been exten- sively used by the so-called Thomsonian or botanic practitioners. Probably many deaths have resulted from its incautious or reckless administration. It is comparatively little em- ployed at present, even in the diseases to which it is most suited, that is, affections of the re- spiratory organs involving a spasmodic element. It is said to have been used by the American aborigines. It may be given in substance, tincture, or infusion. The dose of the sub- stance is from 1 to 20 grs. ; of the tincture, 10 drops to half a drachm. L. cardinalis has been supposed to possess anthelmintic properties. The other native species have but little general interest. The water lobelia (L. Dortmanna) may be found on the borders of ponds, with its leaves, which are tubular, all in a submerged cluster at the root ; the slender stem, which pro- jects about a foot above the surface, has a few scattered light blue flowers. Among the ex- otic lobelias cultivated for ornament are L. ful- gens and L. splendens, garden plants of similar habit to our cardinal flower, but inferior to it in color; both these are from Mexico, as is L. laxiflora, a tall red- and yellow-flowered greenhouse species ; the low, spreading L. eri- nus is from the Cape of Good Hope ; its slen- der stems bear an abundance of blue flowers, or in the various garden forms white and rose- colored flowers ; this is an annual, but is readi- ly continued by cuttings, and is a favorite in both greenhouse and border culture ; a double variety, probably of this, has recently appeared in Europe. The seeds should be sown on a pot of light rich soil, with a smoothed sur- face, and not covered, but merely pr into the soil with some flat surface ; the pot should then be covered with a pane of glass 503 VOL. x. 36 to prevent the earth from drying. Most of the species are readily propagated by cuttings, or by division of the clumps. Among the Lobeliacece, species of siphocampylos, isotoma, and tupa are cultivated for ornament. By far the most remarkable of the Loleliacece are found on the Hawaiian islands, where they be- come arborescent. Six genera, four of them pe- culiar to the islands, are represented by 37" spe- cies. The L. macrostachys has a simple stem 4 to 8 ft. high, crowned with a head of dependent leaves from whose top spring many branches covered with light pink flowers, an exceedingly showy plant. Cyanea superba and the sweet- scented Brighamia insignis are most desirable for cultivation, and the latter plant, although lately discovered, has been raised from seed in England. Most of the tree lobelias have a viscid juice, formerly much used by the natives for bird lime. On account of their acrid juice, all the plants of the order are to be looked upon with suspicion; unpleasant consequences are said to have resulted from carelessly holding bits of the greenhouse species between the lips. The activity of L. inflata has already been referred to; isotoma longiflora, of the West Indies, is reputed to be a deadly poison to horses, and the tupa Feuillei of Chili fur- nishes a dangerous venom. LOBLOLLY BAY, the common name for shrubs or trees of the order camelliacece and genus Gordonia, a name which commemorates both Dr. James Gordon, an eminent Scotch physi- cian, and Alexander Gordon, a London nursery- man well known in the last century. There are two species in the southern states, G. lasi- anthus, which grows from Virginia to Florida, and westward; and O. pulescens (formerly Loblolly Bay. called FranUinia in honor of Benjamin Frank- lin), which, being very local in southern Geor* gia and the adjacent part of Florida, is com- paratively little known, and does not appear