Dig into Plants: Cardinal Flower

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Cardinal Flower

Other Common Names: Cardinal Flower

Scientific Name: Lobelia cardinalis

Native to Alabama: Yes

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center – R. W. Smith

Learn More About...

Basic Plant Information

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center – Stephanie Brundage

I am a vascular plant with no woody stems above ground, so I am herbaceous.
I do not keep leaves year-round, so I am deciduous.
I die back in winter but regrow in spring for many seasons, so I am perennial.
I can grow 2 – 4 feet high and 1 – 2 feet wide.

Ecological Benefits

This plant provides food for:

Butterflies

Other Birds

Other Plants Found in Alabama with Similar Ecological Benefits:

Great Blue Lobelia
(Lobelia siphilitica)

Pale-spike Lobelia
(Lobelia spicata)

Maintenance Notes

Dormant in winter.
Flowers can be cut for an indoor vase.
Deadhead to improve appearance and encourage rebloom, but don’t cut back plants in the fall.
Can be propagated by bending a stem down into the mud and fastening it with a rock or sticks.
When watering, hold hose to base of plant for a count of 5 seconds. Water should reach all roots.
Avoid sprinkling water on the leaves.
Requires moist to wet soil at all times.

Moist to wet soil at all times: water three times per week.

Habitat Requirements

This plant prefers:

Full Sun
(6+ hours of sun per day)

Part Sun/ Shade
(2-6 hours of sun per day)

Shade
(Less than 2 hours of sun per day)

Prefers moist to wet soils at all times

Sandy, Loamy, Clay, Limestone,
or Moist Soil

Leaf, Flower & Seed Identification

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center – Stephanie Brundage

LEAF DESCRIPTION

Dark green leaves are pointed at both ends and grow up to 4 inches long; lower portion of unbranched, erect stem lined with leaves.

Leaf Characteristics Chart (PDF)


Shape: Lanceolate	Margin: Serrate

Arrangement: Alternate	Form: Simple

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center – Steve Faucette

FLOWER DESCRIPTION

Terminal raceme (compact cluster of small flowers attached by short equal stalks at equal distances along the end of a stem) up to 8 inches long; flowers are 1-2 inches long, resupinate (twisting as they open) and have 2 lips with the upper portion two-lobed and the lower divided into three parts and spreading, all parts uniting into a tube at the base

Flower Shape Chart (JPG)


Color: Red; or blue for Great Blue Lobelia – Lobelia siphilitica	Shape: Tubular	Bloom Months: May – Oct

Minnesota Wildflowers – Peter M Dziuk

SEED DESCRIPTION

Plant spreads by:
Seeds


Type: Fruit - Dry Seed Pod	Description: Capsule is two-celled, holding many small golden seeds, opening at the top	Months in Seed: Fall

Plant Life Cycle

Plant Life Cycle:

All plants start life as a seed.
The seed turns into a sprout when it grows roots.
The sprout becomes a seedling as grows a stem and leaves above the ground.
After the seedling becomes an adult plant it will grow flowers.
After the flowers finish blooming, each flower turns into a seed.
When the seeds fall down to the ground, the plant life cycle starts again.
Each seed can become a plant if it has the food, water and space that it needs to grow.

General Plant Life Cycle – Dreamstime

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR TEACHERS

Quick Fact Sheet
(Condensed Species Info)

Plant ID Sign (Text Only):
Ready as-is PDF

Plant ID Sign (With Pictures):
Ready as-is PDF

QR Code
(Links to this Webpage)

Plant ID Sign (Text Only):
Editable Word Doc

Plant ID Sign (With Pictures):
Editable Word Doc

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