Black & Yellow Orb Weaver Garden Spider, Argiope aurantia, amongst the Blue Lobelia in my garden. Even if you don't like spiders, this large female still looks amazing. Orb web means it spins a web in a circular shape, which can be up to 2 feet (60 cm) in diameter, with a dense zigzag of silk. They eat a wide range of flying prey including flies, moths, beetles, wasps, grasshoppers, aphids, mosquitoes, etc. They breed once a year. Adult males roam in search of potential mates. When they find a female, they build a small web with a white zigzag band across the middle either nearby or in an outlying part of the female's web. Potential males court by plucking and vibrating her web. They are not dangerous. They may bite when harassed but it is no worse or harmful than a bee sting to a healthy adult.
LOBELIA is a plant who's above ground parts, mainly the flowering parts and the seeds, are used to make medicine. Lobelia is used for breathing problems including asthma, bronchitis, whooping cough, and shortness of breath (apnea) in newborn infants. Some people take lobelia as a sedative to help them relax. Other people use it to increase sweating. Lobelia is applied to the skin for muscle pain, joint lumps associated with rheumatoid arthritis (rheumatic nodules), bruises, sprains, insect bites, poison ivy, and ringworm. Lobelia (Lobelia inflata) or Indian tobacco is an herbal remedy recommended for addressing acute asthma symptoms. It has a long history of use by Native Americans who smoked lobelia as treatment for asthma. The name Indian Tobacco was assigned because the Aboriginal people smoked dried leaves of the plant. Historically, the Aboriginal people were very creative and efficient in using the Lobelia plant for medicinal purposes. The Iroquois used the root to treat leg sores, venereal diseases and ulcers. The Cherokees used a poultice of the root for body aches. They also used the plant for boils, sores, bites and stings. Considered a plant to cure asthma, phthisic (lung disease), croup and a sore throat, it was also used to discourage the presence of gnats. The Crows made use of it in religious ceremonies. In the 19th century, American physicians used lobelia to provoke vomiting as a means of removing toxins from the body. For this reason, it has also been called "puke weed." The reason you've heard lobelia described as a toxic herb is that high doses cause serious effects: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, profuse sweating, tremors, rapid heartbeat, mental confusion, convulsions, hypothermia, coma, and possibly death.
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