Cardinal flower

Images

Click on image to view full size

Cardinal flower

Cardinal flower

Cardinal flower

Cardinal flower

Cardinal flower

Cardinal flower flowers

Cardinal flower

Cardinal flower

Cardinal flower

Morphology

Stem

Erect, mostly single, simple or rarely branched, leafy, glabrous.

Leaves

Alternate, simple, short-stalked below, sessile above, lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, 1 to 8 inches long, 1/4 to 2 inches wide, glabrous or rarely hairy; margins toothed; tips pointed; upper leaves reduced.

Inflorescence

Racemes, many flowered, 4-28 inches long, terminal, each node 1-flowered.

Flower

5-lobed, bright red, 1 to 1.75 inch long; calyces bell-shaped, strongly ribbed, glabrous or sparsely bristly; 3 lower corolla lobes narrowly ovate to elliptic, bent downward and spreading; 2 upper corolla lobes erect, linear-lanceolate, slightly smaller than lower lobes; stamens 5, filaments red, anthers gray, united, forming straight or slightly curved tube around style.

Fruit

Capsules, cup-shaped; seeds numerous, tiny, chestnut-brown.

Ecology

Habitat

Wet sites with partial sunlight, stream banks, marshy areas, and moist thickets.

Distribution

Throughout Kansas.

Practical Information

Toxicity

The leaves, stems, and fruits of cardinal flower can be poisonous to livestock.

Uses

In the 1800s, lobelia species were used medicinally to treat nervous disorders, convulsions, asthma, and tetanus.

Additional Notes