Campanulaceae

Cardinal flower

Lobelia cardinalis L.

Family: Campanulaceae
Genus: Lobelia

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Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis) — FlowerPhoto: k2018lena, CC0, from iNaturalist

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Common names

By language (14)

Arabic: لوبيلية كردينالية
arz: لوبيليه كرديناليه
Bulgarian: Пурпурна лобелия
Chinese: 紅衣主教花, 红衣主教花, 红花山梗菜
English: Cardinal flower, Cardinalflower, Cardinal plant
German: Kardinals-Lobelie, Kardinalslobelie, Schöne Lobelie
Hebrew: לובליה אדומה
Indonesian: Sigarang merah
Japanese: ベニバナサワギキョウ
Malayalam: ലോബെലിയ കാർഡിനാലിസ്
nv: Dahiitį́į́hildaaʼígíí
Russian: Лобелия пурпурная
Thai: โลบีเลีย
Turkish: Kardinal çiçeği

Synonyms

Dortmanna cardinalis (L.) Kuntze
Dortmanna cordigera (Cav.) Kuntze
Dortmanna engelmanniana Kuntze
Dortmanna fulgens (Willd.) Kuntze
Dortmanna graminea (Lam.) Kuntze
Dortmanna longifolia (C.Presl) Kuntze
Dortmanna phyllostachya Kuntze
Dortmanna splendens (Willd.) Kuntze
Lobelia cardinalis f. alba (J.McNab) H.St.John
Lobelia cardinalis f. cardinalis
Lobelia cardinalis f. cordigera (Cav.) Bowden
Lobelia cardinalis f. hispidula (E.Wimm.) Bowden
Lobelia cardinalis f. rosea H.St.John
Lobelia cardinalis f. splendens (Willd.) Bowden
Lobelia cardinalis subsp. cardinalis
Lobelia cardinalis subsp. graminea (Lam.) McVaugh
Lobelia cardinalis var. alba J.McNab
Lobelia cardinalis var. angustifolia Vatke
Lobelia cardinalis var. candida Alph.Wood
Lobelia cardinalis var. glandulosa N.Coleman
Lobelia cardinalis var. graminea (Lam.) McVaugh
Lobelia cardinalis var. hispidula E.Wimm.
Lobelia cardinalis var. integerrima Alph.Wood
Lobelia cardinalis var. meridionalis Bowden
Lobelia cardinalis var. multiflora (Paxton) McVaugh
Lobelia cardinalis var. phyllostachya (Engelm.) McVaugh
Lobelia cardinalis var. propinqua (Paxton) Bowden
Lobelia cardinalis var. pseudosplendens McVaugh
Lobelia cardinalis var. texensis (Raf.) Rothr.
Lobelia coccinea (Moench) Stokes
Lobelia cordigera Cav.
Lobelia cordigera var. fatalis E.Wimm.
Lobelia cordigera var. marryattae (Paxton) E.Wimm.
Lobelia cordigera var. multiflora (Paxton) E.Wimm.
Lobelia cordigera var. pyramidalis (Paxton) E.Wimm.
Lobelia formosa Roth
Lobelia fulgens Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd.
Lobelia fulgens f. atrosanguinea (Hook.) Voss
Lobelia fulgens f. maculata Voss
Lobelia fulgens f. rosea Voss

and 37 more.

Flowers

In flower: July to September (from 8,210 flowering iNaturalist observations worldwide)
Flower colour: red (USDA PLANTS Database)

Characteristics

Growth habit: Forb/herb
Lifespan: Perennial
In the US and Canada: Canada: native, Lower 48 states: native

Photos

FlowerPhoto: k2018lena, CC0, from iNaturalist
FlowerPhoto: Alexis López Hernández, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
FlowerPhoto: Tom Scavo, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
FlowerPhoto: Liliana Ramírez-Freire, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
FruitPhoto: Douglas Goldman, CC BY-SA 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Stan Shebs, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Ilaria Merutka, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Pl@ntNet via GBIF
Photo: H. Zell, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: boytanical, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Pl@ntNet via GBIF
Photo: Clifton Ladd, C.W.B., CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Fritzflohrreynolds, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: steve bryant, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Pl@ntNet via GBIF

More in Lobelia

Sources: classification, synonyms from World Flora Online Plant List (2026-06, CC0 1.0); common names, popularity from Wikidata (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0); common names, US characteristics from USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.