In mid to late summer, the brilliant red blooms of the Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis) brighten areas with moist to wet soils in eastern North America as well as farther west to the southwestern states and California. The Cardinal Flower is an ideal example of a plant that has flowers adapted for a single type of pollinator, the hummingbird. The only hummingbird species in northeastern North America is the Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris). This hummingbird gets its name from the iridescent red patch on the throat of the males—females lack the red patch. I’ve enjoyed watching these tiny, energetic birds darting about in a patch of Cardinal Flowers in my backyard, sipping nectar while performing valuable pollination services.
The show starts in mid summer
Cardinal Flowers extend their spike-like inflorescences upward beginning in mid summer and ultimately reach a height of 24” to 48” (60 to 122 cm). Individual flowers open in succession from the bottom of the stem to the top over a period of about six weeks. Each spike can have several to over 50 individual flowers. Each flower consists of a tube about 1 1/2” (3.8 cm) long that flares out into five petals—two outstretched petals forming an upper lip and three downward pointing petals forming a lower lip.
Projecting upward from between the two upper petals of the tubular flower is another tubular structure that contains both the male and female reproductive parts. When the flowers first open, they’re in the male phase. In this phase, pollen is held in the tip of the tubular reproductive structure. A tuft of white hairs, looking like a tiny beard, extends beyond the tip. When the tuft of hairs is pushed back, the tip of the tube opens and releases pollen.
After about five days, the flower shifts to the female phase. In this phase, the female structure called a style elongates and extends out beyond the end of the tube. On the tip of the style are the stigmas, which are receptive to pollen from male phase flowers. At any given time, a spike can have unopened flowers, male phase flowers, female phase flowers, and remnants of flowers that have finished blooming.
Hummingbirds at your service
Hummingbirds are attracted to red flowers, and the Cardinal Flower certainly meets this requirement. Hummingbirds also have long, grooved, forked tongues that can lick nectar from the bases of long, tubular flowers like Cardinal Flowers. The hummingbird feeds while hovering at the flower’s opening, beating its wings at about 55 times per second.
As the hummingbird hovers at the Cardinal Flower’s opening and enjoys a drink of sweet nectar, the top of its head comes in contact with the flower’s reproductive parts. If the flower is in the male phase, the hummingbird’s head will brush against the tuft of hairs at the end of the reproductive tube and receive a dusting of pollen.
If the flower is in the female phase, pollen already on the hummingbird’s head will stick to the female stigmas. Since male and female phase flowers are present at the same time, the hummingbird usually is successful in transferring pollen to female phase flowers. Cardinal Flower is self-compatible, so seeds will be produced whether the pollen is transferred to a female phase flower on the same plant or on a different plant.
But … beware an interloper
This mutually beneficial relationship between Cardinal Flowers and hummingbirds can be disrupted by an interloper. Learn more in the next Eye on Nature blog post.
Fascinating to learn about wildflowers and their pollinators. I never thought that much about birds assisting with pollination, but, clearly, hummingbirds can play an important role.
Thanks for your comment, Jo Ann.
Nice article. Lovely flowers, helpful too.
Thanks, natureintheburbs!
Great action photos of the hummingbirds fertilizing the plants! I had never realized that the same flower of some plant species can go from a male phase to a female phase… very interesting!
I’ve only seen this flower while hiking, and I was surprised to learn that you cultivate it in your yard. When I’ve seen it, it’s been in flood plains. Did you raise it from seed?
Hi Deb,
Thanks for your comment. Yes, I raised my Cardinal Flowers from seed. It’s very easy-just sow seeds on the surface of seed starting mix and place in a warm, light area-I start my seeds indoors under fluorescent lights. If I recall correctly, they germinated in about a week or two.
I’m pleased that these moisture-loving plants do well in my backyard. They’re in average, sometimes dryish, soil that gets about 5 hours of midday sun and little or no supplemental watering.
Edna
Thank you for the additional info.
I was just about to write a post on exactly this topic, with exactly the same photos you have here. Thanks for the great information!
Thanks for your comment, Sue. I look forward to reading your posts.
Edna