CARDINAL FLOWER (Lobelia cardinalis), a late-flower ing herbaceous perennial of the lobelia family, widely distributed in eastern North America. It grows in moist rich soil, often on muddy banks, from southern New Brunswick and Ontario westward to Colorado and south to Florida and Texas, blooming in late August or September. The plant, which attains a height of from 2 to 4 ft., bears a large cluster of very showy, intensely red flowers, each about an inch long with a three-divided lower lip and a slender upright portion. This plant is one of the most handsome of North American wild flowers.