Lobelia inflata L.
Bladderpod, Indian tobacco, wild tobacco, pukeweed, asthma weed, vomitwort
Indian tobacco is a North American native plant. Identification: These plants are 6-28" (15-70 cm) in height. Stems have fine hairs. Leaves are 2-3" (5-7.6 cm) long and half as wide, roughly oval in shape, with fine teeth. Flowers are ¼" (6.3 mm) in size, white to pale blue or lavender in color, with a lower lip split into three sections, an an inflated base that becomes a seed pod about ¼" (8.5 mm) across. Flowers are bilaterally symmetrical, and they appear from July to October. Usually the flower stalks are on angled, leafless branches from the main stem, in addition to the main stem itself. Although the flowers are small, these pod-studded branches, like rattles, are the most easily identified characteristic. Edibility: Poisonous Medical: Indian tobacco has long been smoked as a remedy for asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia, and cough, both by native Americans and by some herbalists even today. Lobeline, an active ingredient, was tried as a substitute for nicotine in helping people to quit smoking. Although it may actually help for this purpose, there is not enough research data to support it, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned its use for this purpose in 1993. This plant has also been used as a purgative (like ipecac), eaten to induce vomiting, but it is too dangerous for this purpose. Online References:
Lobelia inflata on Ontario Wildflowers Lobelia inflata at Minnesota Wildflowers Lobelia inflata at the University of Wisconsin's Robert W. Freckmann Herbarium Lobelia inflata at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Lobelia inflata at the University of Maryland Medical Center Lobelia inflata at Botanical.com Lobelia inflata on the USDA Plants Database Lobelia inflata on the Connecticut Botanical Society's Connecticut wildflowers site 10/22/2009 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts 10/25/2011 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Dunstable, Dunstable, Massachusetts 8/18/2010 · J. Harry Rich Woods, off Nod Rd., Groton, Massachusetts 10/22/2009 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts 8/18/2010 · J. Harry Rich Woods, off Nod Rd., Groton, Massachusetts Lobelia inflata description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 7 Nov 2020. © FloraFinder.org. All rights reserved. |
8/18/2010 · J. Harry Rich Woods, off Nod Rd., Groton, Massachusetts 8/18/2010 · J. Harry Rich Woods, off Nod Rd., Groton, Massachusetts 7/20/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Ayer, Massachusetts 10/22/2009 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts 10/22/2009 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts 8/22/2020 · Warbler’s Way, Moose Alley, Hidden Valley Nature Center, Jefferson, Maine 8/18/2010 · J. Harry Rich Woods, off Nod Rd., Groton, Massachusetts Range:
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