E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Lobelia dortmanna L.
water lobelia (Dortmann's cardinalflower)
Campanulaceae (Bellflower family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Distribution of Lobelia dortmanna
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Species Information

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Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

General:
Aquatic perennial herb from a fibrous root; stems hollow, upright, mostly unbranched, 0.1-1 m tall, glabrous.

Leaves:
Basal leaves in submerged rosette, linear, somewhat fleshy, hollow, curved, 2-8 cm long; stem leaves few, alternate, inconspicuous or reduced to threadlike bracts.

Flowers:
Inflorescence of stalked, terminal racemes; corollas pale blue or white, 1-2 cm long, lower lip larger and hairy at the base, 3-lobed, upper lip 2-lobed.

Fruits:
Capsules, 5-10 mm long, seeds roughened, squared at the base.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat / Range

Sandy or gravelly lake and pond margins in the lowland zone; locally common in coastal SW BC; E to NF and S to PA and N OR; NW Europe.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Lobelia dortmanna

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)

Site Information	Value / Class
Site Information	Minimum	Average	Maximum
Elevation (metres)	900	900	900
Slope Gradient (%)	0	0	0
Aspect (degrees) [0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]		0
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric]	7	7	7
Modal Nutrient Regime Class
Number of field plots species was recorded in:	8
Modal BEC Zone Class	CWH
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in:	CWH(7), IDF(1)
Source: Klinkenberg 2020

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is cool mesothermal.

Status Information

Origin Status	Provincial Status	BC List (Red Blue List)	COSEWIC
Native	S5	Yellow	Not Listed

BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer, the authoritative source for conservation information in British Columbia.

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Genetic information (NCBI Taxonomy Database)
International Plant Names Index
Taxonomic Information from the World Flora Online
Integrated Taxonomic Information System

Additional Range and Status Information Links

Burke Museum of Natural History (Washington State records)
CalFlora
Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria records
Jepson Interchange
NatureServe Explorer
USDA

Additional Photo Sources

Images From CalPhoto
UT Austin's Native Plant Database
Google Image Search
Flickr Image Search

General References

Google Scholar Search
Family References
General Botanical References for BC

Recommended citation: Author, Date. Page title. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Editor) 2020. E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. [Accessed: 2024-05-18 1:01:18 PM ]

Disclaimer: The information contained in the E-Flora atlas pages is derived from expert sources as cited in each section. This information is scientifically based. E-Flora also acts as a portal to other sites via deep links. As always, users should refer to the original sources for complete information. E-Flora BC is not responsible for the accuracy or completeness of the original information.