LOBELIA FAMILY 
LOBELIACE/E 
CarpDINAL FLtower. For brilliance of color 
no blossom in our summer fields can compare with 
the Cardinal Flower, which holds its flaming 
spikes on tall, erect stems in marshes, and along 
margins of brooks and ditches. It is a water lover 
and is to be found only where its roots can reach 
an abundance of moisture. Even there it is sel- 
dom very abundant; we more often see a dozen or 
two plants together than a greater number, and 
even these are likely to disappear in regions where 
people can easily gather them. The blossoms 
appear to be especially adapted to pollination by 
humming-birds, which love brilliant hues of red 
and freely visit many sorts of red flowers. 
“ Along the roadside, like the flowers of gold 
That tawny Incas for their gardens wrought, 
Heavy with sunshine droops the goldenrod, 
And the red pennons of the cardinal flower 
Hang motionless upon their upright staves.” 
The Cardinal Flower is the most conspicuous 
member of the Lobelia family, which includes sev- 
eral other species that may frequently be found 
along the borders of damp woods and the margins 
of slow-running streams. 
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