This striking blue wildflower is blooming everywhere right now
iNaturalist Community
Native Plants
If you've got a damp spot in your yard where nothing else thrives, this native perennial blooms electric blue in late summer and pulls in hummingbirds and bumblebees right when many other flowers are fading.
Great blue lobelia is a native wildflower with tall spikes of deep blue flowers that likes wet feet, think stream banks, ditches, and rain gardens. Right now it's peaking in bloom across a huge swath of the country, which is why so many people are spotting and photographing it. If you've seen a patch of unusually blue flowers near water lately, this is probably it.
Key Findings
718 research-grade observations logged this week, making it one of the most-observed plant species on iNaturalist
Peak flowering period explains the spike in citizen sightings across its native range
Species thrives in consistently moist soil, common along streams, ditches, and rain gardens
chevron_right Technical Summary
Great blue lobelia, a tall native wildflower with vivid blue spikes, is having a surge in observations this week with 718 research-grade sightings logged on iNaturalist, signaling it's in peak bloom across its range.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Trending: great blue lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica) — 718 observations this week
great blue lobelia is among the most observed plant species this week with 718 research-grade observations.
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
Species Mentioned
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Lobelia siphilitica, the great blue lobelia, great lobelia, or blue cardinal flower, is a plant species within the family Campanulaceae. It is an herbaceous perennial dicot native to eastern and central Canada and United States. There are two recognized varieties of Lobelia siphilitica, var. siph...