Cardinal Flower is a species of Lobelia which is native to North America. Cardinal Flower is related to two other Lobelia species along the East Coast of North America, Indian tobacco and great lobelia; all species display the characteristic "lip" petal near the opening of the flower and the "milky" liquid the plant excretes. Cardinal Flower 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 colour to the vesture of Roman Catholic Cardinals. The genus name commemorates Belgian botanist Matthias de L'Obel (1538-1616).

Plants in the Lobelia family may have potential as a drug for neurological disorders and are currently under study.

Within the realm of rational and holistic medicine, cardinal flower roots have been used by the North American indigenous peoples as an ingredient in tea for a number of intestinal ailments and syphilis. Leaf teas were used for bronchial problems and colds, inter alia. The Meskwaki people used it as part of an inhalant against catarrh. The Penobscot people smoked the dried leaves as a substitute for tobacco. It may also have been chewed. The Zuni people used it externally for rheumatism and swelling.

Please note that MIROFOSS does not suggest in any way that plants should be used in place of proper medical and psychological care. This information is provided here as a reference only.

The plant contains a number of alkaloids. As a member of the genus Lobelia, it is considered to be potentially toxic. The Zuni people use this plant as an ingredient of "schumaakwe cakes".

Cardinal Flower can grow in medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, prefers very moist soil and can grow in shallow aquatic environments. In cultivation cardinal flower requires rich, deep soil which remains reliably moist year-round. Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. Cardinal Flowers prefer full sun but can grow in partial shade.

Soil Conditions
Soil Moisture
Sunlight
Notes:

 

Cardinal Flower is a perennial herbaceous plant that grows up to 120cm tall and is found in wet places such as stream banks, swamps, and along fresh water shorelines. The leaves of cardinal flower are up to 20cm long and 5cm wide, lanceolate to oval, with a toothed margin. The blooms of cardinal flower are usually vibrant red, deeply five-lobed, up to 4cm across; they are produced in an erect raceme up to 70cm tall during the summer to fall. Cardinal Flower is easily propagated by seeds which are capsule shaped and approximately 5mm long. The seeds drop and form young plants which grow around the older mature plants each year. Although the plant is generally considered a perennial, they may be short lived. Cardinal Flower is primarily pollinated by the ruby-throated hummingbird.

Plant Height	120cm
Habitat	Swamps, Moist Forests, Stream banks
Leaves	Alternate, Lanceolate 20cm long
Leaf Margin	Toothed
Leaf Venation	Pinnate
Stems	Smooth Stems
Flowering Season	July to September
Flower Type	Elongated clusters of deeply lobed flowers
Flower Colour	red
Pollination	Insects, hummingbirds
Flower Gender	Flowers are hermaphrodite and the plants are self-fertile
Fruit	Capsule shaped seeds
USDA Zone	4B (-28°C to -31°C) cold weather limit

The following health hazards should be noted when handling or choosing a location to cardinal flower:

	TOXICITY Cardinal Flower contains a number of alkaloids. As a member of the genus Lobelia, it is considered to be potentially toxic.
	SKIN IRRITANT The sap of cardinal flower can cause skin irritation for certain skin types.

-Click here- or on the thumbnail image to see an artist rendering, from The United States Department of Agriculture, of cardinal flower. (This image will open in a new browser tab)

-Click here- or on the thumbnail image to see a magnified view, from Minnesota Wildflowers, of the seeds created by cardinal flower for propagation. (This image will open in a new browser tab)

Cardinal Flower can be referenced in certain current and historical texts under the following name:

Red Betty

Cardinal Flower can be translated into the following select languages:

Arabic	الكاردينال زهرة	Bulgarian		Chinese (Sim)	红衣主教花
Croatian	kardinal cvijet	Czech		Danish
Dutch	HoofdBloem	Esperanto	kardinalo Floro	Estonian
Finnish		French		German	Kardinals-Blume
Greek	Καρδινάλιος λουλούδι	Hebrew	פרח קרדינל	Hungarian
Italian	Il cardinale Fiore	Japanese	枢機卿の花	Korean	추기경 꽃
Punjabi	ਮੁੱਖ ਫਲਾਵਰ	Lithuanian	kardinolas gėlių	Norwegian
Persian	کاردینال گل	Polish		Portuguese
Romanian	Cardinalul floare	Russian	кардинал цветок	Slovak
Spanish	Flor cardinal	Swedish		Tagalog
Turkish	Kardinal Çiçek	Ukrainian	кардинал квітка	Vietnamese

The information provided in this conservation assessment has been provided by the Natureserve Database in conjunction with various federal, provincial, state, county, district, regional, and municipal governments as well as public and private conservation authorities. Information in this section is accurate from the last time this article was updated.
	Cardinal Flower is considered to be a vulnerable to secure native species in North America.

The MIROFOSS database offers free printable garden tags for personal and non-profit use. These tags can be used to properly identify plant samples in a garden. Click on the tags shown on the the screen or -click here- to download a full size jpeg image for an cardinal flower identification tag; which can be printed on paper or used with a plastic laser printer.

What's this? This is a QR code (short for Quick Response) which gives fast-track access to MIROFOSS articles. QR Codes are barcodes that can be read by smart phone cameras. This QR Code is unique to this MIROFOSS article. What can I do with it? You can copy and print the QR code to a plant label, poster, book, web site, magazines, or newspaper so smart phone users can scan the QR Code which automatically takes them to this specific article.

Description	Dickinson, T.; Metsger, D.; Bull, J.; & Dickinson, R. (2004) ROM Field Guide to Wildflowers of Ontario, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto:McClelland and Stewart Ltd.
Description	Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
Hazards	Felpin F.-X., Lebreton J. , "History, chemistry and biology of alkaloids from Lobelia inflata" Tetrahedron 2004 60:45 (10127-10153)
Folklore	Foster, Steven and James A. Duke. Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants. Peterson Field Guides, Houghton, Mifflin 1990 edn. ISBN 0-395-92066-3
Biology	Caruso, C. M.; Peterson, S. B.; Ridley, C. E. (2003), "Natural selection on floral traits of Lobelia (Lobeliaceae): spatial and temporal variation", American Journal of Botany 90 (9): 1333–40, doi:10.3732/ajb.90.9.1333, PMID 21659233
Biology	Frances Tenenbaum (2003). Taylor's Encyclopedia of Garden Plants. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. pp. 244–. ISBN 0-618-22644-3.
Folklore	Stevenson, Matilda Coxe 1915 Ethnobotany of the Zuni Indians. SI-BAE Annual Report #30 (p. 56)
Image Rendering	USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA NRCS. Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide to plant species. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Environment	National Audubon Society. Field Guide To Wildflowers (Eastern Region): Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 0-375-40232-2
Physical Identification	National Audubon Society. Field Guide To Wildflowers (Eastern Region): Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 0-375-40232-2
June 30, 2016	The last time this page was updated
©2021 MIROFOSS™ Foundation