Cardinal Flower

 Once again I bring you an update on the Cardinal Flower ... this is especially for those of us who live in Massachucetts or New England. I wrote earlier that the Cardinal Flower is an endangered species, and I found that information on the internet..... but I was't finding it in official places, like goverment sites. So once again I emailed the Hitchcock Center in Amherst to inquire about the conficting information and Ted, the resident botanist, emailed me back to say the following...

There were some archaic laws on the books in Mass that protected certain plant species, including the pink land's slipper, mayflower and cardinal flower.  However these species were listed based on their pretty-ness and not the status of their population in the state.  My understanding is that these laws became obsolete when the Mass endangered species law was passed.

Such good news, but I still wouldn't go about picking these beauties. I think even the Cardinals (birds) would stop and admire the color of this flower.