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infestation (Photo: Sheldon Navie)
habit (Photo: Sheldon Navie)
habit in flower (Photo: Sheldon Navie)
close-up of stem (Photo: Sheldon Navie)
paired leaves (Photo: Sheldon Navie)
flower clusters (Photo: Sheldon Navie)
close-up of the red tubular flowers (Photo: Sheldon Navie)
Scientific Name
Odontonema tubaeforme (Bertol.) Kuntze
Synonyms
Odontonema strictum (Nees) KuntzeOdontonema tubiforme (Bertol.) Kuntze
Family
Acanthaceae
Common Names
cardinal flower, cardinal guard, fire spike, firespike, odontonema, red justicia, scarlet flame
Origin
Native to Mexico and Central America (i.e. Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama).
Naturalised Distribution
Widely naturalised, but scattered, in the coastal districts of eastern Australia (i.e. in northern and south-eastern Queensland and in the coastal districts of northern and central New South Wales).
Also naturalised on Lord Howe Island and overseas in south-eastern USA (i.e. Florida), French Polynesia, the Cook Islands, Hawaii, Western Samoa and American Samoa.
Notes
Firespike (Odontonema tubaeforme) is an emerging environmental weed in Queensland and New South Wales.