Herb latin name: Lobelia sessilifolia


Family: Campanulaceae (Bellflower Family)



Edible parts of Lobelia sessilifolia:

The buds and young plants are cooked and used as a famine food. Caution is advised because they contain a toxic alkaloid.

Description of the plant:



Plant:
Perennial


Height:
70 cm
(2 feet)

Flowering:
August

Habitat of the herb:

Wet places in lowland and mountains all over Japan.

Propagation of Lobelia sessilifolia:

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Division in spring. Basal cuttings in spring. Harvest the shoots when they are about 10cm long with plenty of underground stem. Pot them up into individual pots and keep them in light shade in a cold frame or greenhouse until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the summer. Layering in moist sand, it forms roots at the nodes.

Cultivation of the herb:

Wet places in lowland and mountains all over Japan.

Medicinal use of Lobelia sessilifolia:

None known

Known hazards of Lobelia sessilifolia:

The plant contains a toxic alkaloid. It contains the alkaloid lobeline which has a similar effect upon the nervous system as nicotine.

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future.