On Synonymy, Infraspecific Variability and Nomenclature: This plant is almost always sold as a cultivar of Lobelia fulgens, but that is an old synonym of L. cardinalis. It has also been sold as a cultivar of L. splendens, another old synonym.
Floridata [1999] and other authorities have wrongly considered this cultivar to be of the hybrid L. x. speciosa, but the consensus now seems to be that they were wrong, indeed, the history of the form makes the Floridata claim very doubtful.
It is noteworthy that 'Queen Victoria' is much less hardy than the native populations from Canada or much of the USA; 'Queen Victoria' and its descendant 'Elmfeuer' also require no vernalization, Texan or Missouri plants don't either, but Michigan plants do, and can need up to two months of cold, wet storage for uniform germination.
L. cardinalis was named in 1753 by Linnaeus from plants originally collected in Virginia. Although L. cardinalis was already grown in Europe from Canadian collections made in the mid-1620's, 'Queen Victoria' most likely stems from plants sent to Paris and Berlin from central Mexico by the great scientific explorers Alexander von Humboldt and Aimé Bonpland around 1804; these plants would soon be described as L. splendens and L. fulgens in 1809. In 1809 it also first reached Britain from the European continent. The main difference between the two plants was said to be the amount of pubescence; L. splendens had completely glaborous, hairless leaves, whereas L. fulgens, like the L. cardinalis of the USA and Canada, was covered in small hairs. L. splendens was also said to be some 30cm taller than L. fulgens. In flower size both these Mexican plants had larger flowers than the L. cardinalis of that time [info from 1812, more from 1815]. Thus the flowers size and hairlessness of the leaves of 'Queen Victoria' show that it was likely developed from the original Mexican L. splendens. The dark burgundy foliage first appeared in the English gardens of the 1840's and this form was initially named as L. splendens var. atro-sanguinea (='black-bloodied'). It had soon become a popular gardening subject in Europe, and less so in the USA and Australia.
By the 1850's there were also already numerous garden varieties of these L. fulgens cultivated in Europe; pyramidalis, multiflora, and marryattae. The marryattae form had purplish flowers.
By the 1890's, after in 1883 L. fulgens had been synonymized with L. splendens, these were all being called forms of L. splendens var. fulgens. Thus L. splendens had four or more varieties by the 1890's; var. splendens, var. atro-sanguinea, var. fulgens with numerous forms, the little used horticultural var. ignea from 1857, later var. texensis and a few others briefly joined these. Meanwhile L. cardinalis also had horticultural forms, such as alba. Also, the first modern cultivars had started to appear in Europe by the 1870-80's, of which 'Queen Victoria' was among the earliest.
Even more confusingly, especially in France in the late 19th century a group of 'hybrids' had developed, dubbed Lobelia x. hybrida or L. x. perennis hybrida, which were bred lines, cultivars derived from crosses between L. fulgens and cardinalis, with some admixture of syphilitica, and possibly some arnaena thought to be involved. One of the last of these was the violet-flowered L. x. hybrida 'Gerardii' (now L. x. gerardii, of which numerous cultivars were later developed), which was a cross of L. cardinalis 'Queen Victoria' x. L. syphilitica which arose in the Botanic Garden of Lyon in the early 1890's. 'Rivoirei' from the mid-1890's had even larger flowers, deep rose or dark pink. At present, Lobelia x. hybrida has been split into different hybrids or simply cultivars of the species, the generally unidentifiable mixtures are now known as Lobelia x. speciosa (for example 'Russian Princess').
In 1914, L. splendens, L. fulgens and L. cardinalis were still considered separate species in the USA, but L. texensis was already considered a synonym of L. splendens by most US authorities (despite Lobelia cardinalis var. texensis (Raf.) Rothr. [1878/9]). Also by 1914, numerous different beliefs were circling regarding Lobelia splendens var. atro-sanguinea and the cultivar 'Queen Victoria' along with a few others, most in the USA were convinced it should actually be called Lobelia fulgens var. atro-sanguinea. On the other hand 'Queen Victoria' was usually sold as a cultivar of Lobelia cardinalis in the US trade in the 1900-10's. In Europe 'Queen Victoria' and other types of this lobelia were quite popular, and grown in gardens as summer bedding, but in the USA it was much rarer, and grown as a greenhouse plant.
By the 1930's views on the subject had changed again. 'Queen Victoria' was still usually sold as a cultivar of Lobelia cardinalis in the trade, but experts were convinced that it was in fact a cultivar of Lobelia fulgens (now, in 2011, the situation is completely reversed). Experts were still convinced the original Lobelia splendens var. atro-sanguinea should be named Lobelia fulgens var. atro-sanguinea, but by the 1930's they were usually sold in the USA as Lobelia cardinalis var. atro-sanguinea. L. cardinalis 'Nanseniana' was another cultivar popular in the USA of the 1930-40's; it had purplish-red flowers like the older marryattae of the 1850's or L. x. gerardii of the 1890's -experts also considered 'Nanseniana' to actually be a L. fulgens cultivar.
In 1940 Rogers McVaugh, at the age of 31, reorganised the species again. The Central American taxon L. graminea was now classed as a subspecies of L. cardinalis. A few weeks later a further taxonomic refinement was published from McVaugh which recognised four varieties of L. cardinalis subsp. graminea, which were taken from the former L. graminea, L. splendens var. fulgens, and some varieties of L. cardinalis; var. graminea, var. multiflora, var. phyllostachya, and var. pseudosplendens. Some now also saw var. propinqua as a fifth variety. McVaugh's interpretation was widely followed afterwards.
In 1948 the taxonomy was added to further by E. Wimmer, who was resurrected old European names and classified them into the new system; almost doubling the varieties of L. cardinalis subsp. graminea. He also reintroduces an old European name as independent species with two varieties; L. punicea.
In 1953 Wimmer introduced another new taxonomy for classifying the different populations. Here he reinterprets McVaugh's L. cardinalis subsp. graminea as a independent species, but largely retains the varieties which McVaugh attributed to that, added a few of those old European varieties. Wimmer introduces both varieties and forms as subdivisions of the newly imagined L. graminea, doing away with subspecies. He also reintroduces another old European name as an independent species; L. cordigera. According to Wimmer, L. cordigera was a species from Chile, extinct or lost in the wild there, but also sometimes found wild in Mexico, and still grown in European and US gardens as var. pyramidalis, var. multiflora and var. fatalis (only described from an old NY herbarium sample). Wimmer does not seem very widely followed.
In 1982, after the publication of work by Wray Merrill Bowden in the Canadian Journal of Botany, the taxonomy finally began to start to get pruned. Bowden had in 1960 introduced the name f. meridionalis for slightly deviating Florida populations of L. cardinalis subsp. cardinalis in another Canadian population, this must have made him want to revisit the species. ....
In 1997 more taxonomic work was done by S. W. Thompson & Lammers, typifying many of the old European names, and finding the origins of the plants involved. This has made it clear at least certain old names have little basis for distinction, and has removed Peru and Chile from the distribution (after uncovering mistaken citations of the type information in the old 18th and 19th century books).
Jelitto Perennial Seeds of Germany claim they first introduced 'Queen Victoria' in 1986, a century after it had first been developed. Obviously, they are lying, the bastards. 'Queen Victoria' was awarded a RHS Award of Garden Merit in 1993.
'Elmfeuer', also known as 'Elm Fire' or 'St. Elmo's Fire', is a newer version of 'Queen Victoria' by the afore-mentioned company. It is claimed to be 'improved', but otherwise it is unclear how it is distinguished from the original stock.
Especially in the USA a number of subspecies were or are accepted, some of these are even protected on a state level (for example L. cardinalis subsp. graminea in Arizona). However, most authorities now regard these as synonyms of the type.
Flowering times can vary according to region; in Nicaragua it flowers and fruits throughout the year, in the Bajío it flowers from June to Jan, in Texas it flowers from May to December, in California it flowers from August to October.
In Europe the plants under the name L. cardinalis or L. cardinalis subsp. graminea are often sold as underwater plants for aquariums. This practice can apparently be dated to originate in the Netherlands in the 1960's.
On Synonymy: The following synonymy gives only nomens in the genus Lobelia, I have decided not to try to sort the names under the synonymized genera Rapuntium and Dortmanna.
Lobelia cardinalis f. cardinalis
Lobelia cardinalis var. cardinalis
Lobelia cardinalis var. cardinalis f. cardinalis
Lobelia cardinalis subsp. cardinalis f. cardinalis
Lobelia cardinalis subsp. cardinalis var. cardinalis
Lobelia cardinalis subsp. cardinalis var. cardinalis f. cardinalis
Lobelia graminea Lamarck [1791] - Originally given in Vienna to plants thought to be from from Peru, but later, in 1997, found to be mis-cited by Lamarck and actually from Panama.
Lobelia cardinalis subsp. graminea (Lamarck) McVaugh [1940] - This name was applied to populations in California and the SW USA until quite recently. In the 1970's to the 1990's many of those plants growing in Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua were also still going by this name.
Lobelia cardinalis subsp. graminea var. graminea (Lamarck) McVaugh [1940] - Published a few weeks after the above nomen, subsp. graminea, when that name was split into different varieties.
Lobelia fulgens Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd. [1809] syn. L. fulgens Willd. - Thought to native to Mexico. Stems to 90cm. Leaves covered in small downy hairs. In the 1810's it was considered to have the same sized flowers as L. splendens, larger than L. cardinalis, but by the 1910's it was considered to have larger and wider flowers than L. splendens.
Lobelia princeps Otto & A.Dietr. [1839] - Originally from Mexico, cultivated in Berlin.
Lobelia punicea Otto & A.Dietr. [1839] - Originally from Mexico, cultivated in Berlin.
Lobelia porphyrantha Decaisne ex. Groenland [1860] - Originally from Mexico, more precise locality data lost, cultivated in France.
Lobelia phyllostachya Engelmann [1848] - Described from plants collected between Monterrey and Cerralvo in Nuevo León, northern Mexico, in 1847.
Lobelia cordigera Cavanilles [1800] - Originally thought to be from Chile, the type was later realised to originate from Mexico (but some recent Mexican publications seem to be unaware of that).
Lobelia cardinalis f. cordigera (Cavanilles) Bowden [1982] -
Lobelia coccinea Stokes [1812] - nom. illegit.
Lobelia ignea Paxton [1839], non Vellozo [1831]
Lobelia splendens Humb. & Bonpl. ex. Willd. [1809] syn. L. splendens Willd. [1809] - Thought to native to Mexico (in the 1810's) and also Texas in the 1910's. Thought to grow to 120cm, completely hairless leaves. In the 1810's it was considered to have the same sized flowers as L. fulgens, larger than L. cardinalis, but by the 1910's it was considered to have smaller flowers than L. fulgens, and narrower leaves.
Lobelia cardinalis f. splendens (Humb. & Bonpl. ex. Willd.) Bowden [1982]
Lobelia splendens var. atrosanguinea Hook. [1843] syn. L. splendens var. atro-sanguinea, L. splendens 'Atrosanguinea', L. splendens 'Atro-sanguinea' - horticultural form with hairless, burgundy foliage which originally arose in England from the Mexican stock imported to Europe some four decades before.
Lobelia fulgens var. atro-sanguinea
Lobelia cardinalis var. atro-sanguinea
Lobelia splendens var. fulgens (Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd.) S.Watson [1883] - Usually red flowers, stems to 90cm.
Lobelia splendens var. fulgens f. multiflora ... [...] - Red flowers, stems to 120cm. Grown in Britain in the 1850s.
Lobelia splendens var. fulgens f. pyramidalis - Red flowers. Grown in Britain in the 1850s.
Lobelia splendens var. fulgens f. marryattae - Purple flowers. Grown in Britain in the 1850s.
Lobelia splendens var. ignea (Paxton) Hooker [1857]
Lobelia cardinalis var. candida A. W. Wood [1870] - Originally described from Essex County, Massachusetts. Judging by the name, it was likely a white-flowered type.
Lobelia cardinalis var. glandulosa Coleman [1874] - Originally described from Michigan.
Lobelia cardinalis var. integerrima A. W. Wood [1870] - Originally described from along the Raquette River in St. Lawrence county, New York.
Lobelia cardinalis var. hispidula E. Wimmer [1948] - Originally described in Vienna 108 years later from plants collected Portsmouth, Norfolk county, Virginia in August 1840.
Lobelia cardinalis f. hispidula (E. Wimmer) Bowden [1982]
Lobelia cardinalis subsp. cardinalis f. meridionalis Bowden [1960]. - This name was originally given to plants collected on a golf course in Marion county, Florida in 1954.
Lobelia cardinalis subsp. graminea var. multiflora (Paxton) McVaugh [1940] - From the 1940's, to the 1990's in some places, these were thought to be plants with dense, short hairs throughout with lanceolate to ovate leaves, restricted in range to Mexico but possibly extending into Arizona, New Mexico or Texas. Note: There is also a L. multiflora Knowles & Westc. [1840].
Lobelia cardinalis var. phyllostachya (Engelmann) McVaugh
Lobelia fulgens var. propinqua Paxton [1836]
Lobelia propinqua (Paxton) Bowden [1839] - In the 1850's this was thought to be a hybrid between L. fulgens x. splendens.
Lobelia cardinalis subsp. graminea var. pseudosplendens McVaugh [1940] - From the 1940's up to the 1990's this taxon was thought to be the main type to occur in northern Mexico and California to west Texas, but it was sometimes reported as far north as Indiana. It was though to be a plant with a purple-red stem up to 200cm tall, with somewhat smallish, red, rarely white, flowers, with a 'triangular bristle at tips of the 2 shorter anthers'.
Lobelia texensis Raf. [1833] - Originally described from Texas.
Lobelia cardinalis var. texensis (Raf.) Rothr. [1878/9] - Note that by 1900 this name was seen (by some) as a synonym of L. splendens.
Lobelia cardinalis subsp. graminea var. phyllostachya (Engelmann) McVaugh [1940]
Lobelia cardinalis subsp. graminea var. propinqua
Lobelia kerneri Nagy [1889] - Originally collected in Costa Rica, cultivated in Vienna.
Lobelia punicea var. kerneri (Nagy) E. Wimmer [1948]
Lobelia graminea f. kerneri (Nagy) E. Wimmer [1953]
Lobelia graminea var. intermedia E. Wimmer [1948]
Lobelia cardinalis var. alba MacNab [1835] - Originally described from garden plants in Britain.
Lobelia cardinalis var. alba Eaton [1836] - non MacNab [1835]. Probably originally described from garden plants in Britain.
Lobelia cardinalis f. alba (Eaton) H. St.John [1920] syn. Lobelia cardinalis var. cardinalis f. alba (Eaton) H. St.John [1920] - This name was still considered current in the 'Flora of Missouri' in the 1990's.
Lobelia cardinalis f. rosea H. St.John [1920 ("1919")] syn. Lobelia cardinalis var. cardinalis f. rosea H. St.John - Originally described from plants collected in Cheshire county in New Hampshire, USA at the end of the 19th century. This name was still considered current in the 'Flora of Missouri' in the 1990's. A selection of this was marketed in the USA as 'Twilight Zone', 'Angel Song' was a selection with 'salmon and cream' flowers.