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• Campanulaceae
• Lobelia
• Lobelia dortmanna

Lobelia dortmanna — water lobelia

Facts

Water lobelia has a circumboreal distribution and is found in shallow waters of lakes and ponds in all New England states. It normally occurs as a submerged rosette of basal leaves with a stem that holds the flowers above water level.

Habitat

Lacustrine (in lakes or ponds), shores of rivers or lakes

Characteristics

• Clonal plantlets

  Bulbils

  the plant does not appear to have bulbils

  Bulblets replace flowers

  there are no bulblets where the flowers are located

• Flowers

  Anther attachment

  the anther is attached by its base to the filament

  Anther spurs

  the anthers do not have spurs on them

  Calyx growth after flowering

  the calyx grows to cover or partially cover the fruit

  Calyx symmetry

  there is only one way to evenly divide the calyx (the calyx is bilaterally symmetrical)

  Carpels fused

  the carpels are fused to one another

  Cilia on petals

  the petal margins do not have cilia

  Cleistogamous flowers

  there are no cleistogamous flowers on the plan

  Corolla morphology

  the flower has two prominent lips

  Corolla palate

  • no
  • yes

  Corona lobe length

  0 mm

  Epicalyx

  the flower does not have an epicalyx

  Epicalyx number of parts

  0

  Flower appearance

  the flowers appear after the leaves have appeared

  Flower description

  the flower has an inferior ovary, with or without a hypanthium

  Flower length

  12–22 mm

  Flower number

  1–11

  Flower orientation

  • the flower bends downwards or hangs downwards
  • the flower points upwards or is angled outwards

  Flower petal color

  • blue to purple
  • white

  Flower reproductive parts

  the flower has both pollen- and seed-producing parts

  Flower symmetry

  there is only one way to evenly divide the flower (the flower is bilaterally symmetrical)

  Flowers sunken into stem

  no

  Form of style

  the style is lobed at the tip, and unbranched

  Fringed petal edges

  the petals are not fringed

  Fused stamen clusters

  there is one cluster of fused stamens

  Fusion of sepals and petals

  the petals or the sepals are fused into a cup or tube

  Hairs on flower stalk

  the flower stalk has no hairs on it

  Hairs on inflorescence

  the axis of the inflorescence has no hairs on it

  Horns in hoods (Asclepias)

  NA

  Hypanthium

  the flower has a hypanthium

  Inflorescence one-sided

  the flowers are arrayed in a spiral around the inflorescence axis or branches, or occur singly, or in several ranks

  Inner tepals (Rumex)

  NA

  Marks on petals

  there are no noticeable marks on the petals

  Nectar spur

  the flower has no nectar spurs

  Number of branches in umbel

  0

  Number of pistils

  1

  Number of sepals, petals or tepals

  there are five petals, sepals, or tepals in the flower

  Number of styles

  1

  Ovary position

  the ovary is below the point of petal and/or sepal attachment

  Perianth shape

  the perianth is another shape

  Petal and sepal arrangement

  the flower includes two cycles of petal- or sepal-like structures

  Petal and sepal colors

  • blue to purple
  • white

  Petal appearance

  the petals are thin and delicate, and pigmented (colored other than green or brown)

  Petal base

  the petal narrows gradually or does not narrow at the base

  Petal folds or pleats

  the petals of the flower do not have folds or plaits

  Petal glandular dots or scales

  no

  Petal hairs (Viola)

  NA

  Petal hairs on inner/upper surface

  • there are hairs on the inner/upper petal surface
  • there are no hairs on the inner/upper petal surface

  Petal length

  10–20 mm

  Petal length relative to sepals

  the petals are longer than the sepals

  Petal number

  5

  Petal shape

  the petal outline is another shape

  Petal tip shape

  • the petal tip is acute (sharply pointed)
  • the petal tip is obtuse (bluntly pointed)

  Petal tips (Cuscuta)

  NA

  Raceme attachment (Veronica)

  NA

  Reproductive system

  all the flowers have both carpels and stamens (synoecious)

  Scales inside corolla

  no

  Sepal and petal color

  the sepals are different from the petals

  Sepal appearance

  the sepals are green or brown, and leaf-like in texture

  Sepal appendages

  the sepals do not have appendages on them

  Sepal appendages (Oenothera)

  NA

  Sepal auricles

  the sepals have no auricles

  Sepal cilia

  the sepals do not have cilia

  Sepal color

  • blue to purple
  • green to brown

  Sepal number

  5

  Sepal orientation

  • the sepals are pressed against the corolla, or jutting stiffly upward
  • the sepals are slightly curved outwards from the corolla

  Sepal relative length

  the sepal lobes are shorter than the fused portion

  Sepal shape

  • the sepal outline is lanceolate (lance-shaped; narrow, gradually tapering from the base to the tip)
  • the sepal outline is subulate (narrowly tapering from the base to the apex; awl-shaped)

  Sepal tip shape

  • the sepal tip is acute (is sharply pointed)
  • the sepal tip is obtuse (is bluntly pointed)

  Sepal uniformity

  all the sepals are about the same size

  Sepals fused only to sepals

  the sepals are fused to each other (not other flower parts), at least near their bases

  Spur length

  0 mm

  Spur number

  NA

  Stamen attachment

  • the stamens are attached at or near the bases of the petals or tepals
  • the stamens are attached at or near the bases of the petals or tepals

  Stamen morphology

  the stamens within a cycle differ in length or width

  Stamen number

  5

  Stamen position relative to petals

  the stamens are lined up with the sepals

  Stamen relative length

  anything

  Stamens fused

  the stamens are attached to one another at or near their bases

  Staminodes

  there are no staminodes on the flower

  Stigma position

  the stigmas are positioned at the tip of the style

  Style petal-like

  the styles are not petal-like

  Style relative length

  the stigma does not protrude beyond the mouth of the corolla

  Umbel flower reproductive parts

  NA

  Upper lip of bilabiate corolla

  the upper lip of the bilabiate corolla has two lobes

• Fruits or seeds

  Achene relative orientation

  NA

  Achene shape

  NA

  Achene surface (Polygonum)

  NA

  Achene type

  NA

  Berry color

  NA

  Capsule color (Viola)

  NA

  Capsule ribs

  the capsule has no prominent ribs or wings

  Capsule splitting

  the capsule splits by two main valves, teeth or pores

  Fruit (pyxis) dehiscence

  NA

  Fruit beak length

  0 mm

  Fruit features (Brassicaceae)

  NA

  Fruit length relative to sepals

  • the fruit is about the same length as its associated sepals
  • the fruit is longer than its associated sepals

  Fruit locules

  two

  Fruit shape

  • the fruit is ellipsoid (widest in the middle and tapering to each end)
  • the fruit is obovoid (egg-shaped, but with the widest point above the middle)

  Fruit stalk orientation

  • the fruits curve or droop downwards
  • the fruits point upward or spread or curve outward

  Fruit type (general)

  the fruit is dry and splits open when ripe

  Fruit type (specific)

  the fruit is a capsule (splits along two or more seams, apical teeth or pores when dry, to release two or more seeds)

  Legumes (Fabaceae)

  NA

  Mericarp length

  0 mm

  Mericarp segment shape (Desmodium)

  NA

  Other markings on berry

  NA

  Ovary stipe

  the ovary or fruit does not have a stipe

  Ovary stipe length

  0 mm

  Placenta arrangement

  the plant has axile placentation, in which the ovules are attached where the septa of a compound ovary are united, usually on the central axis, or to the septa themselves

  Rows of seeds in fruit (Brassicaceae)

  NA

  Schizocarpic fruit compression

  NA

  Schizocarpic fruit segments

  0

  Seed length

  0.63–0.81 mm

  Seed relative length

  the seed is longer than it is wide

  Seed surface

  the seed is covered with reticulate markings (a netlike pattern due to splitting and rejoining of lines or ridges)

  Septum in fruit (Brassicaceae)

  NA

  Wings on fruit

  the fruit does not have wings on it

  prickles on fruits

  the fruits do not have thorn-like defensive structures

• Glands or sap

  Glands on leaf blade

  the leaf blades do not have glandular dots or scales

  Sap

  the sap is milky and opaque, and may be white or colored

  Sap color

  the sap is white

• Growth form

  Growth form

  the plant is an herb (it has self-supporting stems)

  Horizontal rooting stem

  the plant does not have stolons

  Lifespan

  the plant lives more than two years

  Parasitism

  the plant is not parasitic

  Plant color

  the leaves or young stems of the plant are green

  Plants darken when dry

  no

  Spines on plant

  the plant has no spines

  Underground organs

  there are only slender roots on the plant

• Leaves

  Bracteole edges

  NA

  Bracteole length

  0 mm

  Bracteole number (Apiaceae)

  0

  Bracteole shape

  the bracteoles are ovate (widest below the middle, and broadly tapering to both ends--egg-shaped)

  Bracteoles

  there are no bracteoles on the plant

  Bracts in plantain (Plantago)

  NA

  Final leaf segment length (compound lvs only)

  0 mm

  Final leaf segment length to width ratio (compound lvs only)

  0

  Final leaf segment width (compound lvs only)

  0 mm

  Floral bracts

  the flower has one or more bracts associated with it

  Flower bract length

  2–3 mm

  Hairs on leaf stalk

  NA

  Hairs on underside of leaf

  the underside of the leaf is not hairy, or it has very few hairs

  Hairs on upper side of leaf

  the upper side of the leaf is not hairy, or it has very few hairs

  Hooked hairs on underside of leaf

  NA

  Inflated hairs on leaf

  the leaf blade does not have inflated hairs on it

  Leaf arrangement

  • alternate: there is one leaf per node along the stem
  • the leaves are growing only at the base of the plant (basal)

  Leaf blade base

  the leaf has no stalk

  Leaf blade base symmetry

  the leaf blade base is symmetrical

  Leaf blade bloom

  the underside of the leaf has no noticeable bloom

  Leaf blade edges

  the edge of the leaf blade is entire (has no teeth or lobes)

  Leaf blade hairs

  NA

  Leaf blade length

  Up to 90 mm

  Leaf blade shape

  • the leaf blade is filiform (extremely narrow, thread-like)
  • the leaf blade is linear (very narrow with more or less parallel sides)

  Leaf blade surface colors

  the upper side of the leaf blade is relatively uniform in color

  Leaf blade texture

  • the leaf blade has a fleshy or spongy texture
  • the leaf blade is herbaceous (has a leafy texture)

  Leaf duration

  the leaves drop off in winter (or they whither but persist on the plant)

  Leaf form

  the leaves are green, with an expanded blade and a leaf-like texture

  Leaf hair orientation

  NA

  Leaf sheath length

  0 mm

  Leaf spines

  there are no spines on the leaf edges

  Leaf stalk

  the leaves have no leaf stalks, but attach directly to the stem

  Leaf stalk attachment to leaf

  NA

  Leaf stalk base

  NA

  Leaf stalk length

  0 mm

  Leaf teeth and lobes

  the edge of the leaf blade is entire (has no teeth or lobes)

  Leaf tip

  • the tip of the leaf blade is acute (sharply pointed)
  • the tip of the leaf blade is obtuse (bluntly pointed)
  • the tip of the leaf blade is rounded, with no point

  Leaf tufts in axils

  there are no clusters of smaller leaves growing out of axils

  Leaf type

  the leaves are simple (lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets)

  Leaf types

  There is an abrupt change in appearance of the leaves from the base (or near the base) of the plant to those from further up on the stem, with the basal leaves of conspicuously different shape or form than those slightly higher up.

  Leaf variation

  NA

  Leaflet number

  0

  Leaflet petiolules

  NA

  Leaves per node

  • the leaves are growing only at the base of the plant (basal)
  • there is one leaf per node along the stem

  Pinnately compound leaf type

  NA

  Specific leaf type

  the leaves are simple (lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets)

  Stipels

  NA

  Stipule edges

  NA

  Stipule features

  NA

  Stipule fused to leaf stalk

  NA

  Stipule length

  0 mm

  Stipule shape

  NA

  Stipules

  there are no stipules on the plant

  Teeth per side of leaf blade

  At least 0

• Place

  Habitat

  • aquatic
  • wetlands

  New England state

  • Connecticut
  • Maine
  • Massachusetts
  • New Hampshire
  • Rhode Island
  • Vermont

  Specific habitat

  • in lakes or ponds
  • shores of rivers or lakes

• Scent

  Plant odor

  the plant does not have much of a smell

• Stem, shoot, branch

  Branched tendrils

  NA

  Direction of stem hairs

  NA

  Flowering stem cross-section

  the flowering stem is circular, or with lots of small angles so that it is roughly circular

  Hair between stem nodes

  the stem has no hairs between the nodes

  Hairs between stem nodes

  the stem has no hairs between the nodes

  Hooked hairs on stem between nodes

  • NA
  • no

  Leaves on stem

  • the flowering stem has no leaves above the base
  • there is at least one full leaf above the base of the flowering stem

  Length of hairs between stem nodes

  0 mm

  Plant height

  5–100 cm

  Stem hair distribution

  NA

  Stem nodes swollen

  the stem is not swollen at the nodes

  Stem orientation

  the stems are upright or angled outwards

  Stem roughness between nodes

  the stem does not feel rough

  Stem spacing

  the plant is solitary, or a few plants are growing together

  Stem succulence

  • the stems are not succulent
  • the stems are succulent

  Tendril origin

  NA

  Tendrils

  the plant does not have tendrils

  Wings on stem

  the stem does not have wings on it

Wetland status

Occurs only in wetlands. (Wetland indicator code: OBL)

New England distribution and conservation status

From the dichotomous key of Flora Novae Angliae