Lobelia ehrenbergii Vatke

Lobelia ehrenbergii Vatke, Linnaea 38: 719. 1874
Stem erect, usually unbranched, 2-3 mm. in diameter at base, green or purplish below, 25-55 cm. high, somewhat pubescent below the inflorescence, at least in lines and at the very base; cauline leaves few-15, spreading-ascending, membranous or papery when dry, sparsely pubescent on upper surface near base and margins, the blades subentire or sinuate-dentate, the teeth fine to coarse; inflorescence few-20 cm. long, strongly secund, loosely few-12-flowered, appearing pedunculate, the stem naked for 10-18 cm. below it; pedicels spreading-ascending, slender, 10-25 (60) mm. long in fruit, glabrous; bracteoles minute, at the very base, often apparently wanting; flower-bracts linear to subulate, 5-15 mm. long (or the lower larger), subentire, ciliate-margined or glabrous; flower 20-28 mm. long, including hj^panthium; corolla glabrous without, blue, the tube linear, entire except for the dorsal fissure, 8-10.5 mm. long, the lobes of the lower Up elliptic, acute at tip, 2-4 (7) mm. wdde, 8.5-17 mm. long, the two upper lobes narrowly oblanceolate, erect or recurved, 1-3 ram. wide, 7-10 mm. long; filament-tube (5) 6-7.5 mm. long, glabrous distally, the filaments distinct about half their length and there white-hairy; anther-tube 2.0-3.0 mm. long, all the anthers densely white-bearded near tip; hypanthium in anthesis narrowly campanulate, 2-3 mm. long, glabrous or nearly so; capsule ellipsoid, about half inferior, 4-5.5 mm. in diameter, 9-1 1 mm. long; calyx-lobes linear-subulate, entire, 3-6 mm. long, glabrous or ciliate; seeds ellipsoid, smooth, shining, sometimes with minute longitudinal markings, 0.5-0.8 mm. long.
Type w)Cautv; Mine of La Encamaci6n, Hidalgo ("Mexico, prope los Encamacios"), EhrenbergSSl (Berlin!).
Upper leaves 2-6 mm. wide, the lower broader, 1.0-2.5 cm.
wide; northeastern Mexico. 18a. L. Ehrenbergii var. Ehrenbergii.
Upper leaves 2 mm. wide or less; lower leaves 3 mm. wide or
less; Chihuahua and Durango. 186. L. Ehrenbergii var. graciUns. 18a. Lobelia Ehrenbergii var. Ehrenbergii AlcVaugh, Am. Midi. Nat. 24: 695. 1940.
Lobelia Ehrenbergii Vatke, loc. cit.. as to type. Dortmannia Ehrenbergii Kuntze, Rev. Gen. 972. 1891.
Upper leaves linear, 0.2-0.6 cm. wide, 5-1 1 cm. long, tapering at both ends; lower leaves elliptic, the lowermost oblanceolate to obovate or spatulate, 1-2.5 cm. wide, 2-7 cm. long, on margined petioles 1.5-4 cm. long.
Distkibution: Mountainous regions, northern Hidalgo to Nuevo Le6n and southwestern Tamaulipas.
18b. Lobelia Ehrenbergii var. gracilens (A. Gray) McVaugh, Am. Midi. Nat. 24: 695. 1940.
Lobelia gracilens A. Gray. Proc. Am. Acad. 21: 393. 1886.
Upper leaves narrowly linear, 0.1-0.2 cm. wide, 3-9 cm. long, long-attenuate to tip; lower leaves often oblanceolate, up to 0.35 cm. wide by 3.5 cm. long.
Type locality: "Summit of the mountains above Batopilas. Chihuahua, at about 8850 feet " Ed. Palmer 360 in 1885 (Gray!).
Distribution: Mountains of western Chihuahua and adjacent Durango.