S. cardinalis is a popular species, which produces brilliant red hooded flowers against attractive downy bright-green leaves. Like all Sinningias, it grows from tubers and has a period of dormancy after growth and flowering. The specimen above is a compact form of the species. This standard species can grow quite large.

There are several forms of the species, most illustrated on their own page and available in a slideshow by clicking one of the links below.

• those with peloric flowers,
• white flowers (see another example here, here, a close-up of the white flower cluster, or this interesting cultivar)
• pink flowers
•  S. cardinalis ‘Redcoat’, which has calyces the same bright red color as the flower
• and orange flowers (see other examples of this unusual variant here and here)
• a fine plant with peach-colored flowers exhibited at the 2020 virtual show of the Gesneriad Society