lobelia

lo·be·li·a   (lō-bē'lē-ə, -bēl'yə)    n.  Any of numerous plants of the genus Lobelia, having terminal racemes of variously colored flowers with a bilabiate corolla. [New Latin Lobelia, genus name, after Matthias de Lobel (1538-1616), Flemish botanist and physician.]

Main Entry: lo·be·lia
Pronunciation: lO-'bEl-y&, -'bE-lE-&
Function: noun
1 capitalized : any of a genus(Lobelia of the family Lobeliaceae, the lobelia family) of widely distributed herbaceous plants (as Indian tobacco)
2 : the leaves and tops of Indian tobacco used especiallyformerly as an expectorant and antispasmodic
L'Obel or Loábel /lO-'bel/, Mathias de (1538–1616), Flemish botanist. L'Obel ranks among the greatbotanists who preceded Linnaeus. In 1570 he published a work describing more than 1200 plants. He classified plants according to leaf structure, and he apparently tried to incorporate into hisclassification concepts of genus and family. The genus Lobelia was named in his honor in 1702 by the French botanist Charles Plumier (1646–1704).