Great Blue Lobelia produces striking blue-violet flower spikes along wet stream corridors and meadow edges, blooming in late summer simultaneously with cardinal flower. It was incorrectly believed by early colonists to cure syphilis, hence the species name. Bumblebees are the primary pollinators, squeezing into the two-lipped flowers to reach nectar.
Habitat
Wet meadows, stream banks, and moist forest edges in eastern North America
Diet
Nectar and pollen consumed primarily by bumblebees
How common
Common
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