This native perennial grows up to 2 feet tall. The erect stem has lance-shaped leaves below and large, blue, tubular flowers on short stalks from the leaf axils above. Identified as a blue flower with a 3-lobed lower lip and a whitish throat (C).
Grows in wet areas on floodplains, flowering in August and September. In Fontenelle Forest, uncommon on Pond Trail. At Neale Woods, rare on River Trail.
The scientific name was based on a belief that this plant was used by Native Americans as a secret cure for syphilis. Other common names include Blue Lobelia and Blue Cardinal Flower.
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