Great Blue Lobelia

Lobelia siphilitica, the great blue lobelia, great lobelia or blue cardinal flower, is a herbaceous perennial plant in the family Campanulaceae, native to eastern and central Canada and the United States. There are two recognised varieties, var. siphilitica and var. ludoviciana. It blooms from August to October and is short-lived, lasting only a few years. A flower cannot offer pollen to itself, so it is pollinated by insects, mainly bumblebees, which use the lower three fused petals as a landing pad. It is found from Maine to Manitoba in the north and from North Carolina to Texas in the south, in moist to wet soils and partial shade, including swamp forests, floodplains, lake margins and wet prairies. Native Americans traditionally use it to treat respiratory and muscle disorders. Early European settlers once considered it a cure for syphilis, which is where the scientific name comes from.