Lobelia welwitschii
Selected images: Click on each image to see a larger version and details of the record View all images (4)
Habit
Open dambo grassland plain
Chililabombwe District
Nov 2025
Photo: Nick Wightman
Leaves
Open dambo grassland plain
Chililabombwe District
Nov 2025
Photo: Nick Wightman
Flower
Open dambo grassland plain
Chililabombwe District
Nov 2025
Photo: Nick Wightman
Flower
Open dambo grassland plain
Chililabombwe District
Nov 2025
Photo: Nick Wightman
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Species details: Click on each item to see an explanation of that item (Note: opens a new window)
| Synonyms: |
Lobelia stolzii Schltr. Lobelia welwitschii var. albiflora Hiern |
| Common names: | |
| Frequency: | Locally common |
| Status: | Native |
| Description: |
Perennial, erect or ascending, rhizomatous herb, glabrous or very occasionally pubescent, 10-50 cm tall. Stems not or sparsely branched, angular, not or very narrowly winged. Leaves up to 12 x 1-6 mm, sparsely denticulate; upper leaves narrowly lanceolate, acute, generally erect; lower leaves lanceolate to elliptic or broadly ovate, sometimes obtuse, roughly spreading; epidermis above with large cells (0.05-0.1 mm long) particularly towards the apex and along margins. Flowers in lax racemes; pedicels up to 30 mm long; bracts similar to upper stem leaves; bracteoles c. 1 mm. long, linear, on lower half of the pedicel. Hypanthium obconical to obovoid, c. 10-nerved. Calyx lobes narrow, often subulate, erect, 2.5-6 mm long, with 1-2 pairs of teeth at the margin. Corolla 6.5-10.5 mm. long, blue or rarely white, with two bumps in the mouth of the tube, split to c. 0.4 mm from the base on the back, short pubescent inside on the bottom of the tube. Filaments linear, pubescent at the base, connate for most of their length, attached to the corolla–tube at the base. Anther tube 1.5-2 mm long, shortly pubescent on the back of the upper thecae or glabrous, the two lower anthers each with a tuft of hairs and a hyaline appendage at the apex. Ovary subinferior. Capsule c. 10-nerved with 2 valves c. 1 mm long, inferior part of capsule 4-7 mm long. Seeds elliptic-oblong in outline, somewhat compressed, 0.4-0.5 mm long, almost smooth, brown. |
| Type location: |
Angola |
| Notes: | |
| Derivation of specific name: | welwitschii: named after the Austrian botanist, Friedrich Martin Welwitsch (1806-1872) |
| Habitat: | Bogs, swampy ground, lake edges and stream sides. |
| Altitude range: (metres) | |
| Flowering time: | Aug - Mar |
| Worldwide distribution: | Cameroon, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, DRC, Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi and Mozambique |
| FZ divisions: | N,W,C,E |
| Zambian distribution (Provinces): | Nw,Cb,Mc,E,Lk |
| Growth form(s): | Perennial. |
| Endemic status: | |
| Red data list status: | |
| Insects associated with this species: | |
| Spot characters: | Display spot characters for this species |
| Images last updated: | Thursday 26 March 2026 |
| Literature: |
Burrows, J.E. & Willis, C.K. (eds) (2005). Plants of the Nyika Plateau Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 31 SABONET, Pretoria Page 198. (Includes a picture). Mapaura, A. & Timberlake, J. (eds) (2004). A checklist of Zimbabwean vascular plants Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 33 Sabonet, Pretoria and Harare Page 58. Under Lobeliaceae Thulin, M. (1983). Lobeliaceae Flora Zambesiaca 7(1) Pages 129 - 131. (Includes a picture). Thulin, M. (1985). Lobeliaceae Flore d'Afrique Centrale Botanic Garden Meise, Belgium Pages 23 - 25. (Includes a picture). |
Other sources of information about Lobelia welwitschii:
Our websites:
Flora of the DRC: Lobelia welwitschiiFlora of Malawi: Lobelia welwitschii
Flora of Mozambique: Lobelia welwitschii
Flora of Zimbabwe: Lobelia welwitschii
External websites:
African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Lobelia welwitschiiAfrican Plant Database: Lobelia welwitschii
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Lobelia welwitschii
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Lobelia welwitschii
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Lobelia welwitschii
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Lobelia welwitschii
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Lobelia welwitschii
JSTOR Plant Science: Lobelia welwitschii
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Lobelia welwitschii
Plants of the World Online: Lobelia welwitschii
Tropicos: Lobelia welwitschii
Wikipedia: Lobelia welwitschii