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'''Lobelia telekii''' is a member of the lobelia family found in the tropics. It lives at high altitudes on well-drained slopes. It is a semelparous species, putting all its final efforts into producing large flowers. For this reason the flowers can grow up to 3m (10ft) tall.
''Lobelia telekii'' plants usually consist of a single rosette, which grows for many years, flowers and dies. However, a very small number of plants have multiple rosettes connected by an underground stem Evolution of semelparity in Mount Kenya lobelias, , Truman P., Young, Evolutionary Ecology, .
The flowers of ''Lobelia telekii'' are small and hidden within the inflorescence. The plant is a dull colour The Giant Lobelias: Pachycauly, biogeography, ornithophily and continental drift, , D. J., Mabberley, New Phytologist, .
''Lobelia telekii'' lives on Mount Kenya between 3,500 and 5,000m (11,500-16,400ft). It requires a drier environment than ''Lobelia keniensis'', and lives in the same habitats as rock hyrax. Hyrax predate the lobelia, which often end up with shredded leaves due to the hyrax claws The comparative demography of semelparous ''Lobelia telekii'' and iteroparous ''Lobelia keniensis'' on Mount Kenya, , Truman P., Young, Journal of Ecology,
. Lobelia species on Mount Kenya are all pollinated by birds Tropical Alpine Plant Ecology, , Alan P., Smith, Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, .

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