Found in the same type of habitat as bee balm (Monarda didyma)—moist areas and along water runs—cardinal flower is not named for the state bird of Virginia and West Virginia, but rather for the color of vestments worn by cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church. The genus name of Lobelia honors a Flemish herbalist who was the personal physician of James I of England.
It’s a plant that perfectly illustrates that the web of life is an amazing thing that seems to have no end to its number of strands. In addition to propagating by seeds, cardinal flower sends out shoots that rise above the ground as a rosette of leaves. The following year, this matures into a flowering plant that sends out its own shoots. To obtain the strength needed to accomplish this, the basal leaves stay green year-round, gathering nourishment through photosynthesis—and this is why cardinal flower grows close to streams. It depends on these waterways to overflow their banks every so often and clear away any litter or debris that has come to rest on the leaves, blocking the amount of sunlight that reaches them. So, whenever human beings change the natural flow of rivers and creeks, they affect the health and life of the cardinal flower.
Flower Fast Facts
FLOWER: The brilliant red flowers grow in a long cluster and are about one and a half inches long and have five petals that form two lips; the upper one has two lobes while the lower one has three spreading lobes. The stamens are united in a tube around the single pistil.
LEAVES AND STEM: The lanceolate leaves average six inches in length, are irregularly toothed and grow alternately on the stem of two to five feet in height.
AVERAGE BLOOM SEASON: July to September
About This Series
“Mountain Wildflowers” features a wildflower from the Blue Ridge region each month from March to October. Leonard M. Adkins has written for Blue Ridge Country for more than two decades and is the author of 20 books about travel, hiking and nature. His Wildflowers of the Appalachian Trail, which received the prestigious National Outdoor Book Award, provides the photographs and some of the information he writes about in each “Mountain Wildflowers.” It and his other works may be obtained through his website.
