''Lobelia cardinalis'', the cardinal flower ( syn. ''L. fulgens''), is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the bellflower

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Campanulaceae native to the Americas, from southeastern

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

south through the eastern and southwestern

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

and

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

to northern

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

Description

It is a

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

herbaceous plant Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of t ...

that grows up to tall and is found in wet places, streambanks, and swamps. The

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

are up to long and broad,

lanceolate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular o ...

to oval, with a toothed margin. The

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s are usually vibrant red, deeply five-lobed, up to 4 cm across; they are produced in an erect

raceme A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...

up to tall during the summer to fall. Forms with white (f. ''alba'') and pink (f. ''rosea'') flowers are also known.Missouriplants
''Lobelia cardinalis''
/ref> It grows along streams, springs, swamps, and in low wooded areas. Lobelia cardinalis habit

''Lobelia cardinalis'' is related to two other ''Lobelia'' species in to the Eastern United States, ''

Lobelia inflata ''Lobelia inflata'', also known as Indian tobacco or puke weed, is a species of ''Lobelia'' native to eastern North America, from southeastern Canada (Nova Scotia to southeast Ontario) south through the eastern United States to Alabama and west ...

'' (Indian tobacco) and ''

Lobelia siphilitica ''Lobelia siphilitica'', the great blue lobelia, great lobelia, or blue cardinal flower, is a plant species within the family Campanulaceae. It is an herbaceous perennial dicot native to eastern and central Canada and United States. There are t ...

'' (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 The ruby-throated hummingbird (''Archilochus colubris'') is a species of hummingbird that generally spends the winter in Central America, Mexico, and Florida, and migrates to Canada and other parts of Eastern North America for the summer to bre ...

'').

Etymology

It was introduced to Europe in the mid-1620s, where the name ''cardinal flower'' was in use by 1629, likely due to the similarity of the flower's color to the vesture of Roman Catholic

Cardinals Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

Cultivation

In cultivation ''L. cardinalis'' requires rich, deep soil which remains reliably moist year-round. The

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture, ...

'Queen Victoria' has gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

. This plant is easily propagated by seed and dividing out the young plants which form around the older mature plants each year. Although the plant is generally considered a perennial, they may be short lived. They prefer moist soils in part shade.

Medicinal and other uses

The

Zuni people The Zuni ( zun, A:shiwi; formerly spelled ''Zuñi'') are Native American Pueblo peoples native to the Zuni River valley. The Zuni are a Federally recognized tribe and most live in the Pueblo of Zuni on the Zuni River, a tributary of the Lit ...

use this plant as an ingredient of "schumaakwe cakes" and used it externally for rheumatism and swelling. The

Penobscot people The Penobscot (Abenaki: ''Pαnawάhpskewi'') are an Indigenous people in North America from the Northeastern Woodlands region. They are organized as a federally recognized tribe in Maine and as a First Nations band government in the Atlantic ...

smoked the dried leaves as a substitute for tobacco. It may also have been chewed.Guédon, Marie-Françoise. ''Sacred Smudging in North America'', Walkabout Press 2000

Toxicity

As a member of the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

Lobelia ''Lobelia'' () is a genus of flowering plants comprising 415 species, with a subcosmopolitan distribution primarily in tropical to warm temperate regions of the world, a few species extending into cooler temperate regions.Huxley, A., ed. (1992 ...

'', it is considered to be potentially toxic.Foster, Steven and James A. Duke. ''Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants''. Peterson Field Guides, Houghton, Mifflin 1990 edn. Symptoms of ingestion of large quantities include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, salivation, exhaustion and weakness, dilation of pupils, convulsions, and coma. The plant contains a number of toxic

alkaloid Alkaloids are a class of basic, naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. This group also includes some related compounds with neutral and even weakly acidic properties. Some synthetic compounds of similar ...

s including lobelamine and

lobeline Lobeline is a pyridine alkaloid found in a variety of plants, particularly those in the genus ''Lobelia'', including Indian tobacco (''Lobelia inflata''), Devil's tobacco (''Lobelia tupa''), great lobelia (''Lobelia siphilitica''), ''Lobelia chin ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1396837

cardinalis ''Cardinalis'' is a genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae. There are three species ranging across the Great Lakes region to northern South America. Description They are birds between 19 and 22 cm in length. Its most distinctive char ...

Flora of North America Plants used in traditional Native American medicine Flora of Colombia Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus