lobelia

American  

[loh-beel-yuh] / loʊˈbil yə /

noun

1. any herbaceous or woody plant of the genus Lobelia, having long clusters of blue, red, yellow, or white flowers.

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lobelia British  

/ ləʊˈbiːlɪə /

noun

1. any plant of the campanulaceous genus Lobelia, having red, blue, white, or yellow five-lobed flowers with the three lower lobes forming a lip

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Etymology

Origin of lobelia

1730–40; < New Latin; named after Matthias de Lobel (1538–1616), Flemish botanist, physician to James I of England; see -ia

Example Sentences

For a lot of color, house plant lover need to look no further than the lobelia plant.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 14, 2022

Now, it is a larger and maturing display that includes towering shrubs of buttonbush and bayberry amid lower drifts of lobelia, aster, swamp mallow, goldenrod and winterberry.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 27, 2021

In the heart of the garden, there are towering shrubs of buttonbush and bayberry amid lower drifts of lobelia, aster, swamp mallow, goldenrod and winterberry.

From Washington Post • Sep. 14, 2021

The flu was so impossible to treat that folk remedies filled the gap: People tried powdered lobelia, sagebrush tea, rabbits’ feet, and a laundry list of other home cures.

From Slate • Feb. 18, 2019

Narrow corridors open into immense libraries; glass doors give way to hothouses overflowing with the smells of humus, wet newspaper, and lobelia.

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr