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Lobelia inflata

Indian tobacco

Campanulaceae Eastern and central North America

Attracts Pollinators Deer Resistant Container Friendly

Native to North America

SunFull Sun – Part Shade

WaterMedium

Overview

Indian tobacco is an upright annual or biennial in the bellflower family, growing 6-36 inches (15-90 cm) tall and 6-12 inches (15-30 cm) wide on a single hairy, branched stem. The light green leaves are oval to lance-shaped, 1-3 inches (2.5-8 cm) long, with toothed margins and a sparse covering of hairs. Small two-lipped flowers about 0.25-0.33 inch (6-8 mm) long open pale blue to violet, sometimes nearly white, in loose spikes along the upper branches. After flowering, the base of each flower swells into a rounded, inflated seed capsule that gives the plant its species name and ripens full of tiny brown seeds. Lobelia inflata flowers from midsummer into early autumn, then dies after setting seed, returning the next year from self-sown seedlings. It grows in open, disturbed ground such as fields, clearings, and roadsides, and tends to appear and fade as conditions shift rather than holding a fixed place. All parts contain lobeline and related alkaloids and are toxic if eaten, with a long history of use as an emetic herb. The plant has little presence in the garden outside of native, medicinal, and naturalistic plantings.

Native Range

Native to eastern and central North America, from Labrador and Ontario south to Georgia and west to the Great Plains. Lobelia inflata grows in fields, woodland clearings, pastures, and along roads and trails on open, disturbed soil.

Suggested Uses

Grown in native-plant, medicinal, and naturalistic gardens and in meadow or restoration plantings where a self-seeding annual fits open ground. Its toxicity keeps it out of plantings meant for children or grazing animals. It works as a filler among sturdier perennials rather than as a feature.

How to Identify

Recognized by an upright, hairy, branched stem carrying small pale-blue to violet two-lipped flowers in leafy spikes. The clearest mark is the seed capsule: the flower base swells into a rounded, papery, inflated pod after bloom. The toothed, light green leaves and the inflated pods together separate it from larger-flowered Lobelia spp. species such as L. cardinalis.

Appearance

Size & Dimensions

Height6" - 3'

Width/Spread6" - 1'

Colors

Flower Colors

Foliage Colors

Bloom Information

Bloom Period

~12 weeks

Summer Fall

Blooms from July to October, with most flowers opening in late summer. The small flowers appear a few at a time along lengthening spikes, so bloom is steady but never heavy. Inflated seed capsules form behind the flowers as the spikes extend.

Detailed Descriptions

Flower Description

pale blue to violet

Foliage Description

light green

Growing Conditions

Sun Requirements

SunFull Sun SunPartial Shade

Requires 4-8 hours of direct sunlight daily

• Full Sun: 6+ hours of direct sunlight

• Partial Shade: 3-6 hours of direct sunlight

• Full Shade: Less than 3 hours of direct sunlight

Soil Requirements

pH Range5.0 - 7.0(Neutral)

357912

Soil Types

loam sand clay

Drainagewell drained

Water & Climate

Water Needs

Medium

Care & Maintenance

Care Guide

Grows in full sun to part shade in average, moist, well-drained soil with a pH from 5.0 to 7.0. Seed needs light to germinate and sprouts on open, disturbed ground in spring. The plant tolerates poor soils and short dry spells but stays small and sets seed early under drought. No feeding is needed, and it self-sows where the soil stays open and uncrowded. Because it is monocarpic, each plant dies once seed ripens, and the stand depends on fresh seedlings each year. Seedlings move poorly, so plants are left where they germinate rather than transplanted.

Pruning

No pruning is needed for this short-lived plant. Spent stems are pulled or cut at ground level once seed has shed in autumn. Leaving a few capsules to scatter seed keeps the planting going from year to year.