Plant
Cardinal flower
Lobelia cardinalis
A native perennial wildflower of moist forest streamsides and pond edges across eastern North America — vivid scarlet-red tubular flowers in dense terminal spikes in late summer. Pollinated almost exclusively by ruby-throated hummingbirds, the only North American hummingbird east of the Mississippi; the flower's color and tubular shape are classic hummingbird-pollination signals. Found in Staten Island's freshwater wetland edges.
Scientific
Lobelia cardinalis is a 2–4 ft perennial of moist forest streamsides, pond edges, and freshwater marsh margins. Vivid scarlet flowers (~1.5 inches) in dense terminal spikes; flowering peaks late August through September.
Pollinated almost exclusively by [[ruby-throated-hummingbird|ruby-throated hummingbird]] (Archilochus colubris). The flower’s color (deep red, beyond most insect color-vision range) and tubular shape (matched to hummingbird beak length) are classic hummingbird-syndrome traits. Bees can occasionally access the nectar but are not effective pollinators.
The plant contains alkaloids related to nicotine; toxic if ingested in quantity. Long-standing indigenous medicinal use, but with significant care for dosage.
On Staten Island
Found at the borough’s freshwater wetland edges — Greenbelt stream sites, [[mount-loretto-unique-area|Mount Loretto]] pond edges, Wolfe’s Pond margins, and increasingly in hummingbird-supporting residential gardens. Late-summer flowering coincides with peak hummingbird activity before fall migration; the plant is a meaningful fueling stop for the borough’s southbound migrants.
See also
Auto-generated from this entry’s typed relations: frontmatter, grouped by relation type so the editorial signal isn’t flattened.
- Member of: [[plants]]
- Contained by: [[staten-island]]
Sources
- USDA NRCS Plants Database: cardinal flower
- Long-term hummingbird-pollination ecology literature
Rooted in life.
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Scientific
substrate of
- Ruby-throated hummingbird ruby-throated hummingbird is the principal pollinator of cardinal flower; the flower-and-bird are co-evolved
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