Cardinal wildflower

Description:

The nectar of the cardinal wildflowers attracts the ruby-throated Hummingbird and various Swallowtail butterflies. I did observe a ruby-throated hummingbird nearby in the marsh field but was unable to get its picture. This cardinal wildflower is a beautiful bright shade of red and stands out in the marsh.

Habitat:

The native Cardinal Flower has been observed in most counties of Illinois. Habitats include wet prairies, prairie swales, openings in floodplain and bottomland woodlands, soggy meadows along rivers and streams, gravelly seeps and springs, borders of ponds, edges of small marshes, and ditches. These particular cardinal wildflowers were spotted in a marsh field at Indiana Dunes State Park in Chesterton, Indiana.