Rare blue wildflower confirmed growing along Wisconsin's Ice Age Trail
iNaturalist: tuptagraw
Native Plants
If you hike wetland edges or stream banks in the Upper Midwest this time of year, great blue lobelia's vivid spikes are one of the easiest native wildflowers to identify and worth adding to a home rain garden for late-season pollinator support.
Someone out walking the Ice Age Trail near Merrimac, Wisconsin spotted a great blue lobelia plant and logged it on iNaturalist with a photo. Other naturalists reviewed the sighting and confirmed the identification, making it a verified record scientists and land managers can actually use to track where this native wildflower grows.
Key Findings
Observation location: Ice Age National Scenic Trail, Merrimac, Wisconsin, US
Species confirmed: Lobelia siphilitica (great blue lobelia), a native North American wetland wildflower
Record status: research-grade, meaning community identification consensus was reached on iNaturalist
chevron_right Technical Summary
A birdwatcher or hiker spotted great blue lobelia, a striking native wildflower, growing along the Ice Age National Scenic Trail in Wisconsin, and the sighting was verified by experts as research-grade data.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
great blue lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica) observed in Ice Age National Scenic Trail, Merrimac, WI, US
Research-grade observation of great blue lobelia in Ice Age National Scenic Trail, Merrimac, WI, US.
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...