Lobelia sinaloae Sprague

Lobelia sinaloae Sprague, Kew Bull. 1929: 7. 1929
Lobelia lubiflora F. E. Wimmer; J. G. Ortega, Bol. Pro-Cult. Reg. 1 ; n. 7-8 (Cat. Sist. PI. Sinaloa, 31). 1930. (Nomen nudum.)
Perennial; stem erect, simple or with ascending subordinate lateral branches, coarse (up to 4 mm. in diameter at base), purplish at least below, up to 75 cm. high, pubescent throughout or somewhat woody and glabrate below; cauline leaves few-20, papery but firm when dry, short prickly-pubescent at least near base and on the veins of the lower surface, green above, light gray-green or silvery beneath when dry, the margin serrate with slender sharp teeth, or in the largest leaves doubly serrate, the principal teeth about 1 cm. apart, the intermediate teeth about 5 per cm., the blades narrowly elliptic, occasionally varying to lanceolate, 1-2.5 cm. wide, 5-10 cm. long, usually 4—6 times as long as wide, the upper leaves abruptly narrowed to a sessile base, the lower leaves with broadly winged subpetiolar base, the tips of the blades acute or short-acuminate; inflorescence a spike, usually plainly secund, 8-25 cm. long, few-25flowered, the stem naked below the lowest flower for a distance of 5-13 cm.; pedicels stiffly upright, filiform, 5-11 mm. long in fruit, minutely pubescent, ebracteolate or with a pair of filiform bracteoles 1 mm. long at base; flower-bracts linear or nearly so, serrate, acuminate, up to 3 mm. wide by 20 mm. long; flower pendent, 30-35 mm. long, including hypanthium; corolla violet (according to Sprague), glabrate, or the tube pubescent without, the tube linear, 16-18.5 mm. long, 2-3 mm. in diameter ("3 mm. diametro mediano, 2 mm. diametro transverso" according to Sprague), laterally fenestrate near base and usually dorsally also, but without dorsal fissure at apex, the distal two-thirds entire; tube inserted obliquely in the hj-panthium-tube, the lobes of the lower lip broadly elliptic or obovate, apiculate, 5-7 mm. wide, 6-13 mm. long, the two upper lobes spatulate, 3-4 mm. wide, 6-9 mm. long; filament-tube 1112.5 mm. long, included in the corolla-tube, glabrous distally, the filaments free for about half their length or less, the free part pilose; anther-tube about 3.5 mm. long, the two shorter anthers 2.5-3.0 mm. long, the anthers all densely white-tufted at tip, otherwise glabrous; hypanthium in anthesis cup-shaped or nearly hemispheric, oblique, flattened at base, pubescent, enlarging in fruit, becoming slightly broader than high, about 3.5 mm. across; capsule less than half inferior, about 5 mm. long, the free part conic; calyx-lobes linear-subulate, minutely pubescent and usually prickly on the margins, serrate, 1-1.5 mm. broad at base, 7-9 mm. long; seeds ellipsoid, smooth, shining, blunt, about 0.7 mm. long.
Type locvlitv-: Cultivated at Hyde Park, England; seeds originally from Mina La Tuna, Tarahumar, San Jose de Gracia, Sinaloa (Kew!). DiSTRrBUTiON; Mountains of Sinaloa,