View source for Lobelia nicotianaefolia (PROSEA)

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<big>''[[Lobelia nicotianaefolia]]'' Roth ex Roem. & Schult.</big>
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:Protologue: Roemer & Schultes, Syst. veg. 5: 47 (1819).

:Family: Campanulaceae

== Synonyms ==

*''Lobelia pyramidalis'' Wallich (1820),
*''Rapuntium pyramidale'' Presl (1836).

== Vernacular names ==

*Philippines: adlabong, kanyuong (Igorot), balyongyong (Bontok)
*Thailand: haang kai faa (northern)
*Vietnam: bả thuốc, sơn cánh khúc.

== Distribution ==

From India and Sri Lanka, Indo-China, southern China to the Philippines and Sulawesi (Indonesia).

== Uses ==

The seeds are very poisonous, and used as an insecticide. In Vietnam, the crushed leaves or the juice is applied to abscesses and furuncles.

== Observations ==

*A coarse, biannual or perennial herb, up to 2(-4.5) m tall, stem terete at base, angular above, hollow, simple or apically branched.
*Leaves spirally arranged, crowded when young, oblong to narrowly lanceolate, gradually smaller towards apex, 10-50 cm × 4-8 cm, base long decurrent, apex acuminate, margins serrate, both sides hairy; raceme terminal, up to 45 cm long, at base often panicle-like, pedicel 1-2.5 cm long.
*Flower up to 3.5 cm long, variable in colour, whitish, pink, blue or purple, sepals linear to lanceolate, up to 12 mm long, corolla up to 3 cm long, outside glabrous or hairy, inside hairy, dorsal lobes connate with lateral ones at least for half its length, ventral and lateral lobes equal in length, filaments 1.5-2 cm long, free and hairy at base, upwards puberulous.
*Capsule rounded-cupular, 1 cm × 0.4-0.6 cm, 7-12-veined, glabrous to hairy.
*Seed flattened ellipsoid, small, 0.5 mm long, yellowish-brown, smooth.

''L. nicotianaefolia'' occurs in open localities on ridges in montane forest, often on grassy mountain slopes and hills, from 600-2300 m altitude. ''L. nicotianaefolia'' is a very polymorphous species, and microspecies, based on characters like presence or absence of bracteoles, insertion of the bracteoles, branching patterns, hairiness, and size of flowers, do not hold.

== Selected sources ==

*[74] Backer, C.A. & Bakhuizen van den Brink Jr, R.C., 1964—1968. Flora of Java. 3 volumes. Noordhoff, Groningen, the Netherlands. Vol. 1 (1964) 647 pp., Vol. 2 (1965) 641 pp., Vol. 3 (1968) 761 pp.
*[215] Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, 1948—1976. The wealth of India: a dictionary of Indian raw materials & industrial products. 11 volumes. Publications and Information Directorate, New Delhi, India.
*[739] Nguyen Van Duong, 1993. Medicinal plants of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. Mekong Printing, Santa Ana, California, United States. 528 pp.

== Main genus page ==
*[[Lobelia (PROSEA)|''Lobelia'']]

== Authors ==

*G.H. Schmelzer


[[Category:Medicinal plants (PROSEA)]]
[[Category:PROSEA]]