Poisonous
Effect:
anti-inflammatory, narcotic, antispasmodic
Areas of application:
(as a cough reliever for bronchitis, epilepsy, diphtheria, tonsillitis, sprains, bruises, skin irritations)
See warning below!!!
Plant parts used:
All parts of the plant
Collection time:
-
To find:
In moist soils, swamps, stream banks and along rivers in North America.
Ingredients:
Lobelamine and Lobeline
Miscellaneous:
The cardinal lobelia is a perennial plant and can reach a height of up to 1 meter. It attracts attention with its bright red flowers and belongs to the bellflower family. The flowers are cardinal red and two-lipped with five deep lobes. They grow on an upright cluster that blooms in summer and fall. The toothed lanceolate to oval leaves are 20 cm long and 5 cm wide and are alternate along the stem.
🛑 Some other plants in the Lobelia genus are poisonous, so it is advisable to be careful when using Cardinal Lobelia as it can be potentially poisonous in larger doses. Symptoms of poisoning include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, excessive salivation, weakness, pupil dilation, convulsions and coma. There are better plants to use than these.
The cardinal lobelia is also used as a plant in aquariums.
The Penobscot people smoked the dried leaves as a tobacco substitute. It may also have been chewed.