''Lobelia dortmanna'', Dortmann's cardinalflower or water lobelia, is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family Campanulaceae. This

stolon In biology, stolons (from Latin '' stolō'', genitive ''stolōnis'' – "branch"), also known as runners, are horizontal connections between organisms. They may be part of the organism, or of its skeleton; typically, animal stolons are external s ...

iferous

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of t ...

perennial

aquatic plant Aquatic plants are plants that have adapted to living in aquatic environments (saltwater or freshwater). They are also referred to as hydrophytes or macrophytes to distinguish them from algae and other microphytes. A macrophyte is a plant that ...

with basal leaf-rosettes and flower stalks grows to tall. The flowers are 1–2 cm long, with a five-lobed white to pale pink or pale blue

corolla Corolla may refer to: *Corolla (botany), the petals of a flower, considered as a unit *Toyota Corolla, an automobile model name * Corolla (headgear), an ancient headdress in the form of a circlet or crown * ''Corolla'' (gastropod), a genus of moll ...

, produced in groups of one to ten on an erect

raceme A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...

held above the water surface. The fruit is a capsule 5–10 mm long and 3–5 mm wide, containing numerous small seeds.BorealForest
''Lobelia dortmanna''
/ref>Blamey, M. & Grey-Wilson, C. (1989). ''Flora of Britain and Northern Europe''. The leaves are almost cylindrical, blunt, 2.5–7.5 cm long and evergreen. They have no functional

stoma In botany, a stoma (from Greek ''στόμα'', "mouth", plural "stomata"), also called a stomate (plural "stomates"), is a pore found in the epidermis of leaves, stems, and other organs, that controls the rate of gas exchange. The pore is bor ...

ta. It is one of several unrelated species of plants from low nutrient lakes known as isoetids, owing to their superficial similarity to Isoetes. The leaves of ''Lobelia dortmanna'' are, however, easily distinguishable from those of other isoetids in having only two air-canals (Isoetes having four and most others several) and in the presence of milky sap. The plant has the unusual ability of removing carbon dioxide from the rooting zone rather than from the atmosphere.

Distribution

''Lobelia dortmanna'' is native to cool temperate regions of northern Europe (from the British Isles and northwest France to northwest Russia) and northern North America (both coasts;

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

south to New Jersey and west to the Great Lakes in the east, and British Columbia south to Oregon in the west). It reaches its northern limit in northern Norway, north of the Arctic circle. Flora Europaea
''Lobelia dortmanna''
/ref>

Ecology

The plant typically occurs in shallow water on sandy, peaty or rocky lakeshores, in pools, and in some kinds of

wetlands A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

. It is rarely found in rivers. Low water periods may leave it temporarily emersed, although it is sensitive to prolonged emersion and is one of the first species to be lost when water levels in lakes are artificially managed. ''Lobelia dortmanna'' has relatively low competitive ability and tends to be restricted to areas with low plant cover and relatively low rates of sedimentation at depths of less than 1 metre. It often grows with other isoetids such as ''Littorella uniflora'', ''Isoetes lacustris'', ''Isoetes echinospora'' and ''Subularia aquatica''. It is regarded as an indicator of infertile and relatively pristine shoreline wetlands. Consequently, it is a species that can be put at risk by eutrophication and is used as an

indicator species A bioindicator is any species (an indicator species) or group of species whose function, population, or status can reveal the qualitative status of the environment. The most common indicator species are animals. For example, copepods and other sma ...

of relatively clear water and the possible occurrence of other less obvious isoetid species. Such lakes are therefore often referred to as Lobelian lakes, as a specific habitat. Scientifically, such aquatic environments are designated as habitat type 3130: "Oligotrophic to mesotrophic standing waters with vegetation of the ''Littorelletea'' uniflorae and/or of the ''Isoëto-Nanojuncetea''". In Europe, Lobelian lakes are relatively abundant in the more mountainous areas.Habitat account - Freshwater habitats
Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC)

Gallery

Image:Lobelia dortmanna flower2.jpg, Flowers Image:Illustration Legousia speculum-veneris0.jpg, Illustration (plant on right) File:PNBT Gacno Wielkie z lobelią jeziorną 03.07.10 p.jpg, A Lobelian lake.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q158068 Aquatic plants dortmanna Flora of Europe Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus