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cardinal flower

American  

noun

  1. a North American plant, Lobelia cardinalis, with showy red tubular flowers in an elongated cluster.


cardinal flower British  

noun

  1. a campanulaceous plant, Lobelia cardinalis of E North America, that has brilliant scarlet, pink, or white flowers

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of cardinal flower

An Americanism dating back to 1620–30; so called from its color

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Yet in color it is as rich an orange as the petal of the cardinal flower is a rich scarlet.

From Under the Maples by Burroughs, John

It is a splendid show of brilliant scarlet, the color of the cardinal flower and surpasses it in mass and profusion.

From Woodcraft or, How a Patrol Leader Made Good by Douglas, Alan

Where their vivid doubles are reflected in a shadowy mountain stream, not even the cardinal flower is more strikingly beautiful.

From Wild Flowers An Aid to Knowledge of Our Wild Flowers and Their Insect Visitors by Blanchan, Neltje

The cardinal flower is the only flower more gaudy in red than this bee balm.

From The Library of Work and Play: Gardening and Farming. by Shaw, Ellen Eddy

Do not imagine I made any such observations as these at the time, least of all that I then knew the cardinal flower by its correct name.

From Confessions of Boyhood by Albee, John

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