Biology:Lobelia inflata
| Indian tobacco | |
|---|---|
| |
| Lobelia inflata[1] | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Asterales |
| Family: | Campanulaceae |
| Genus: | Lobelia |
| Species: | L. inflata
|
| Binomial name | |
| Lobelia inflata | |
Lobelia inflata, also known as Indian tobacco or puke weed, is a species of Lobelia native to eastern North America, from southeastern Canada (Nova Scotia to southeast Ontario) south through the eastern United States to Alabama and west to Kansas .[3]
Description
Lobelia inflata is an annual or biennial herbaceous plant growing to 15–100 cm (5.9–39.4 in) tall, with stems covered in tiny hairs. Its leaves are usually about 8 cm (3.1 in) long, and are ovate and toothed. They are alternately arranged. It has violet colored flowers that are tinted yellow on the inside, and usually appear in mid-summer and continue to bloom into fall.[4] The seedcases are small, brown, dehiscent, and papery.[5]
Propagation
Propagation is usually accomplished by cuttings or seed. Seeds are sown in containers in mid spring or mid fall. The seeds take about 2 weeks to germinate.
Traditional uses and adverse effects
Lobelia inflata has a long use as a medicinal plant as an entheogenic, emetic, and skin or respiratory aid.[6][7] Native Americans used it for respiratory and muscle disorders, as a purgative, and as a ceremonial medicine.[6][7] The leaves were chewed and smoked.[8] The plant was used as a traditional medicinal plant by the Cherokee, Iroquois, Penobscot, and other indigenous peoples.[7] The foliage was burned by the Cherokee as a natural insecticide, to smoke out gnats.[7]
Although it may be used medicinally,[9] consuming lobelia causes adverse effects, which may include sweating, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, tremors, rapid heartbeat, mental confusion, convulsions, hypothermia, coma, or possibly death.[6][10] The root is toxic and can be fatal if eaten.[6][8]
Chemical constituents
Lobelia inflata contains multiple alkaloid compounds, including lobeline, norlobelanine, lobelanidine, and radicamine, among other compounds, such as flavonoids, terpenes, alkynes, and coumarins.[6][11][12] Lobeline concentration is highest in the seeds.[6]
References
- ↑ Franz Eugen Köhler, 1897, Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen
- ↑ NatureServe (30 June 2023). "Lobelia inflata". Arlington, Virginia: NatureServe. https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.160514/Lobelia_inflata.
- ↑ {{citation | mode = cs1 | title = Lobelia inflata | work = Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN) | url = | publisher = [[Organization:Agricultural Research ServAgricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) | access-date = 2009-04-09 }}
- ↑ Caldecott, T. Western Materia Medica: Lobelia inflata (pdf file)[yes|permanent dead link|dead link}}]
- ↑ "Some Call Them Weeds". 2016-01-02. https://wondermyway.com/2016/01/02/some-call-them-weeds/.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 "Lobelia". Drugs.com. 21 April 2021. https://www.drugs.com/npp/lobelia.html.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 University of Michigan at Dearborn: Native American Ethnobotany of Lobelia inflata
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Niering, William A.; Olmstead, Nancy C. (1985). The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers, Eastern Region. Knopf. p. 441. ISBN 0-394-50432-1.
- ↑ "Lobelia". EBSCO Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) Review Board. January 2006. http://healthlibrary.epnet.com/GetContent.aspx?token=2e7354b6-ae71-4dab-90df-c7026eb1c66f&chunkiid=111703.
- ↑ "Lobelia". University of Maryland Medical Center. https://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/herb/lobelia. "It may cause serious side effects, such as profuse sweating, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, tremors, rapid heartbeat, mental confusion, convulsions and hypothermia."
- ↑ Kursinszki, László; Szőke, Éva (2015). "HPLC-ESI-MS/MS of brain neurotransmitter modulator lobeline and related piperidine alkaloids in Lobelia inflataL". Journal of Mass Spectrometry 50 (5): 727–33. doi:10.1002/jms.3581. PMID 26259655. Bibcode: 2015JMSp...50..727K.
- ↑ "Taxon: Lobelia inflata L.". National Plant Germplasm System. https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxonomydetail.aspx?22466.
External links
- USDA Plants Profile for Lobelia inflata (Indian-tobacco)
- Lobelia inflata - Plants For A Future database report
- Indian Tobacco (Lobelia inflata)
Wikidata ☰ Q1661351 entry
 |  |
