Lobelia

a genus of flowering herbs and half shrubby plants. Both stem and leaves have a milky, acrid juice abounding in rubber. Showy flowers--blue, red, purple, and yellow--are arranged usually in a terminal or raceme. The corolla is irregular and tubular. It is split down one side almost to the base. The stamens are five, arranged in a tube often protruding from the split in the corolla. There are over 200 species. The most conspicuous wild lobelia of North America is the flaming red cardinal flower. The large blue lobelia is valuable in medicine. Indian tobacco, with an inflated calyx, is a powerful emetic. Kalm's lobelia is a slender plant found in bogs. The common delicate blue garden lobelia comes from the Cape of Good Hope. Other lobelias in favor with florists are from Texas, Chile, and Mexico.