Syphilantha

Dennis Szeszko dszeszko@gmail.com
Sun, 08 Jan 2006 09:20:32 PST
Hi:

The "mystery plant" is Lobelia laxiflora.  It is quite a common plant in
Mexico and I see it a lot during the course of my fieldwork.  The flowers
are very beautiful and seem to hover in the air as they dangle from their
stalk, but the plant itself is a somewhat large and ungraceful shrub.  Of
course, it is possible that Tony at Plant Delights might have a more
compact, "garden-friendly" cultivar available.

The plant grows at high altitudes in filtered light and is accustomed to
xeric conditions during winter so it is possible that it could be quite
hardy in the southern United States.  The flowers are a hummingbird magnet.


The thought had crossed my mind of collecting seed to share, but the plant
in its undomesticated state (in my opinion) would not make a good candidate
for a perennial garden.  Some work with line-breeding should result in a
more compact plant that is more floriferous...now THAT would be worth
purchasing.

-Dennis


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