what is this plant?

Dianne
by Dianne
To
my gardening friends: Do you know what kind of plant this is? The
blooms look like Salvia to me, but the plants are 3-4 ft tall. I found
it growing in a creek bed behind my house.The mature leaves are long & pointed. The "baby" leaves at the base of the plant are round & ruffled.
  12 answers
  • Ellen H Ellen H on Oct 04, 2012
    It's hard to tell from the picture - look up cardinal flower and see if you think it is a match.
  • Anna K Anna K on Oct 04, 2012
    This is a difficult photo to I.D. but from the description, along with the wet location-I would say cardinal flower also... Lobelia cardinalis
  • Sharron W Sharron W on Oct 04, 2012
    Gosh I thought Cardinal Flower was a vine...I must be confused with something else...
  • 360 Sod (Donna Dixson) 360 Sod (Donna Dixson) on Oct 04, 2012
    Lobelia cardinalis (Cardinal Flower) and yes Sharron there is also a Cardinal Vine (Ipomea quamocli).It is easy to get confused when there are a lot of plants with the same common name.
  • Sharron W Sharron W on Oct 04, 2012
    I wouldn't mind having some of that myself, it needs marshy conditions....and Full Sun? Partial Sun?
  • Douglas Hunt Douglas Hunt on Oct 05, 2012
    @Sharron W: Lobelia cardinalis definitely likes moist conditions, but it needn't be a marsh. The drier the site the more shade it will need. Great native plant for a late-season burst of color if you have the right conditions.
  • Sharron W Sharron W on Oct 05, 2012
    Oh Thanks Douglas....I love red in the yard...It helps bring the hummingbirds...So that is one more plant that I will eventully look for after I finish "rearranging" the other things I currently have.
  • Dianne Dianne on Oct 05, 2012
    I almost drown trying to "steal" some of these from a river bank in Arkansas....Never did get them.
  • 360 Sod (Donna Dixson) 360 Sod (Donna Dixson) on Oct 05, 2012
    heh...I almost got arrested for taking a seed pod from a Southern Mag off the road right of way.
  • Sharron W Sharron W on Oct 05, 2012
    Whoa y'all....seriously almost got arrested....you didn't know it was illegal to take plants for the sides of the road? And Dianne....almost drowned, come on now....go to HD and pinch the end off the plant and take it home and root it...LOL (JK)
  • 360 Sod (Donna Dixson) 360 Sod (Donna Dixson) on Oct 05, 2012
    It only a seed pod! lol
  • Dianne Dianne on Oct 06, 2012
    I LOVE to get plants off the side of the road...lol