Summary ⁷

Lobelia cardinalis (syn. L. fulgens, cardinal flower) is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family Campanulaceae native to the Americas, from southeastern Canada south through the eastern and southwestern United States, Mexico and Central America to northern Colombia.

Description ⁸

It is a perennialherbaceous plant that grows up to 1.2 m (4 ft) tall and is found in wet places, streambanks, and swamps. The leaves are up to 20 cm (8 in) long and 5 cm (2 in) broad, lanceolate to oval, with a toothed margin. The flowers are usually vibrant red, deeply five-lobed, up to 4 cm across; they are produced in an erect raceme up to 70 cm (28 in) tall during the summer to fall. Forms with white (f. alba) and pink (f. rosea) flowers are also known.

Lobelia cardinalis is related to two other Lobelia species in to the Eastern United States, Lobelia inflata (Indian tobacco) and Lobelia siphilitica (great lobelia); all display the characteristic "lip" petal near the opening of the flower and the "milky" liquid the plant excretes. L. siphilitica has blue flowers and is primarily pollinated by bees, whereas L. cardinalis is red and is primarily pollinated by the ruby-throated hummingbird (Archilochus colubris).

Habitat: ⁹

Tolerates part shade to sun. A common plant of wet meadows, woodlands, and open woods

Read More ¹⁰

• https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=278870
• https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=loca2
• https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/wetland/plants/cardinal.htm

Sources and Credits

1. (c) John Beetham, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by John Beetham
2. (c) Judy Gallagher, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cardinal_Flower_-_Lobelia_cardinalis,_Merrimac_Farm_Wildlife_Management_Area,_Aden,_Virginia_(24456514487).jpg
3. (c) H. Zell, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lobelia_cardinalis_001.JPG
4. (c) anonymous, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://eol.org/media/6698107
5. (c) Alison Anastasio, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Alison Anastasio
6. (c) Ken-ichi Ueda, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://www.flickr.com/photos/18024068@N00/7861512084
7. Adapted by Murfreesboro,TN, Natural Resource Division from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lobelia_cardinalis
8. (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lobelia_cardinalis
9. (c) evankrev, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://www.inaturalist.org/guide_taxa/1384974
10. (c) Murfreesboro,TN, Natural Resource Division, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• Calflora
• CalPhotos
• eFloras.org
• Flora of North America (beta)
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• Go Botany
• HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants
• IPNI (with links to POWO, WFO, and BHL)
• Jepson eFlora
• Maryland Biodiversity Project
• NatureServe Explorer 2.0
• SEINet Symbiota portals
• Tropicos
• USDA PLANTS database
• VASCAN by Canadensys
• World Flora Online
• 日本のレッドデータ検索システム
• 植物和名−学名インデックス YList

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