Gattinger's Lobelia - Lobelia gattingeri
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Lobelia gattingeri - Gattinger's Lobelia.
Lobelia is a large genus, with over 400 species worldwide; nearly 50 are found in North America. Most are herbaceous - as are all North American continental species, but a few African and Hawaiian species are trees or shrubs. The leaves are alternate in either a spiral or two rows on the stem. Most Lobelia flowers have an opening on the top of the corolla tube nearly or entirely to the base, and may also have side fenestrations. The corolla is typically two-lipped, with the upper lip having two lobes (usually erect) and the lower lip almost always three lobes (usually spreading.) The 5 stamens are joined together in a tube with the stamens exserted from the corolla, usually through the opening in the top of the corolla tube.
Lobelia gattingeri (formerly Lobelia appendiculata var. gattingeri) is a species with a very small distribution, being found only in limestone glades in two counties in south central Kentucky and a few counties in central Tennessee. Reports for north central Alabama are now believed to be incorrect, although there are appropriate habitats in that region where it may yet be found. Lobelia gattingeri is named for Bavarian-born Dr. Augustin Gattinger, who came to Tennessee in 1849 at the age of 24. He lived in Tennessee until his death in 1903, practicing medicine and becoming one of the state's foremost botanists, bringing particular note to the special botanical characteristics of the cedar glades found in central Tennessee.
Found in:
AL, KY, TN | 
Distribution of Lobelia gattingeri in the United States and Canada:
Blue=Native; Grey=Introduced
Map from USDA Plants Database:
USDA, NRCS. 2017. The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, 16 Jan 2025). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC 27401-4901 USA.
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| | Site: Couchville Cedar Glade, Davidson County, TN Date: 2017-May-11 | Photographer: Gerald C. Williamson
Nikon D7000
| | The inflorescence of Gattinger's Lobelia is a mostly secund raceme - the pedicellate flowers start blooming first at the bottom of the inflorescence, and are mostly on the same side of the inflorescence. While the flowers are usually light blue to lavender, they may be white, and can be confused with Lobelia spicata, whose range contains that of L. gattingeri. L. spicata is non-secund - the flowers bloom all the way around the inflorescence. | | 
| | Site: Couchville Cedar Glade, Davidson County, TN Date: 2017-May-11 | Photographer: Gerald C Williamson | | As with most Lobelia flowers, the tiny flowers of Lobelia gattingeri have an opening on the top of the corolla tube nearly or entirely to the base, from which the stamens become exserted. The corolla is two-lipped, with the upper lip having two usually erect lobes and the lower lip three lobes. The flower is less than 1/2 inch long. | | Click on the photo for a larger image
| | Site: Flat Rock Cedar Glades and Barrens State Natural Area, Rutherford County, TN Date: 2018-June-05 | Photographer: Gerald C Williamson | | The calyx and lobes of Lobelia gattingeri are glabrous, without auricles, and has non-ciliate calyx lobe margins, helping to distinguish it from several other Lobelia, especially L. appendiculata, of which L. gattingeri was classified as a variety until recently. L. appendiculata also more frequently has white flowers, and without Gattinger's as a variety, is not found in Tennessee and Kentucky. | | Click on the photo for a larger image
| | Site: Flat Rock Cedar Glades and Barrens State Natural Area, Rutherford County, TN Date: 2018-June-05 | Photographer: Gerald C Williamson | | Gattinger's Lobelia is a small plant, usually no more than a foot tall. It is either an annual, but sometimes may be biennial. Those plants that last for two years are usually taller and more likely to have multiple branches than those that last only one year. Secondary branches are axillary. | | Click on the photo for a larger image
| | Site: Couchville Cedar Glade, Davidson County, TN Date: 2017-May-11 | Photographer: Gerald C Williamson | | The leaves of Lobelia gattingeri are elliptic to ovate, usually with small teeth - sometimes only a few and very small. The leaves are nearly clasping and as with all Lobelia, alternate. | | Click on the photo for a larger image
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References used for identification and information:
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