Lobelia tupa is a species of Lobelia

Lobelia

Lobelia is a genus of flowering plant comprising 360–400 species, with a subcosmopolitan distribution primarily in tropical to warm temperate regions of the world, a few species extending into cooler temperate regions...

native to central Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

 from Valparaíso

Valparaíso Region

The V Valparaíso Region is one of Chile's 15 first order administrative divisions.Valparaíso Region, 2006 With the country's third highest population of 1,539,852 million in 2002 and third smallest area of , the region is Chile's second most densely populated after the Santiago Metropolitan Region...

 south to Los Lagos

Los Lagos Region

Los Lagos Region is one of Chile's 15 regions, which are first order administrative divisions, and comprises four provinces: Chiloé, Llanquihue, Osorno and Palena. The region contains the country's second largest island, Chiloé, and the second largest lake, Llanquihue.Its capital is Puerto Montt;...

 regions.

It is an evergreen

Evergreen

In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...

 perennial plant

Perennial plant

A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...

 growing to 4 m tall. The foliage grey-green, with elliptical leaves

Leaf

A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....

 10–15 cm long. The flower

Flower

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...

s are red, trumpet-shaped, produced in a sympodium

Sympodium

Sympodium is a pattern of branching, similar to dichotomous branching; which is both a botanical and mycological term used to describe patterns of branching along a stem or hyphae. Recent discoveries have proven the pattern to be useful in glitch music....

 pattern. It is, and thrives in dry soils.

Its latex is used as an abortifacient

Abortifacient

An abortifacient is a substance that induces abortion. Abortifacients for animals that have mated undesirably are known as mismating shots....

, and a hallucinogen, which may explain one of its common names, Tabaco del Diablo (Devil's tobacco). Ironically, this plant has been used as a counter effect herb on nicotine

Nicotine

Nicotine is an alkaloid found in the nightshade family of plants that constitutes approximately 0.6–3.0% of the dry weight of tobacco, with biosynthesis taking place in the roots and accumulation occurring in the leaves...

 addiction because of alkaloid Lobeline

Lobeline

Lobeline is a natural alkaloid found in "Indian tobacco" , "Devil's tobacco" , "cardinal flower" , "great lobelia" , and Hippobroma longiflora...

, a nicotinic agonist

Nicotinic agonist

A nicotinic agonist is a drug which enhances the action at the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor .Examples include:* nicotine...

. The Mapuche Indians of Southern Chile consider it a sacred plant. Tupa leaves have also been found to contain chemicals that act as a respiratory stimulant.