Palmerella
Palmerella is a small plant group in the bellflower family (Campanulaceae) that has only one living species: Palmerella debilis. This species was long known by the name Lobelia dunnii.
Palmerella debilis grows in eight southern California counties—San Diego, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara, and Monterey—as well as the northern part of Baja California.
The oldest name for the plant is Palmerella debilis, given by Asa Gray in 1876. In 1889, Greene proposed moving the species to the genus Lobelia, but he could not use the name Lobelia debilis because that name was already in use for a different plant. He instead introduced the replacement name Lobelia dunnii. In recent publications, the original Gray name is favored again.
Two subspecies are recognized. Over the years, the plant has been described under several synonyms, including Lobelia dunnii and Laurentia debilis, reflecting its complicated naming history.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 19:59 (CET).