Burke: Delphinium distichum vs. Delphinium nuttallianum

	Delphinium distichum	Delphinium nuttallianum
	two-spike larkspur	thin-petal larkspur, upland larkspur
Habit	Sturdy, grey-puberulent perennial from fleshy roots, the stems 4-7 dm. tall.	Pubescent perennial from fleshy roots, the stems 1.5-4 dm. tall, usually single and simple.
Leaves	Basal and lower cauline leaves long-petiolate, the blades 4-6 cm. broad and divided nearly to the base into 3 segments, which are twice divided into broad segments; lower leaves abruptly transitional into mid-stem leaves, which are short-petiolate, very numerous and overlapping, and finely divided into linear segments.	Leaves few, long-petiolate, mostly basal, the blades 2-6 cm. broad, 2-4 times parted or lobed into linear or oblong-lanceolate segments 1.5-5 mm. broad; cauline leaves much reduced upward.
Flowers	Inflorescence a many-flowered, spike-like raceme, the pedicels shorter than the calyx spur and strongly ascending; sepals 5, bluish-purple with lighter streaks, cupped forward, 7-9 mm long, oblong, the spur 11-17 mm. long; petals 4, small, the lower pair blue, lobed, the upper pair white; stamens numerous; pistils 3.	Inflorescence simple or compound, the racemes 3-15 flowered; the lower pedicels several times as long as the flowers, spreading or ascending; sepals 5, deep purplish-blue, widely spreading, 17-25 mm. long, the lower pair the largest; the spur 13-20 mm. long, from about as long to twice as long as the top sepal; petals 4, small, the lower pair sometimes brownish or yellow-purplish, or all deep purplish-blue, the blade 3-4 mm. long, deeply bi-lobed; stamens numerous; pistils 3.
Fruits	Follicles 8-12 mm. long, erect, usually glandular.	Follicles 15-22 mm. long, somewhat spreading.
Comments		Specimen records from west of the Cascade Mountains need to be re-examined.

	Delphinium distichum	Delphinium nuttallianum
Flowering time	May-July	March-August
Habitat	Vernally wet swales and meadows, in sagebrush or ponderosa pine forest.	Dry, gravelly ground, sagebrush deserts to the ponderosa pine region in the mountains.
Distribution	Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to Oregon, east to Montana and Wyoming. [WildflowerSearch map]	Occurring chiefly east of the Cascades crest in Washington; British Columbia to California, east to the Rocky Mountains. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Origin	Native	Native
Conservation status	Not of concern	Not of concern
Sibling taxa	D. ajacis, D. basalticum, D. ×burkei, D. depauperatum, D. glareosum, D. glaucum, D. leucophaeum, D. lineapetalum, D. menziesii, D. multiplex, D. nuttallianum, D. nuttallii, D. occidentale, D. stachydeum, D. sutherlandii, D. trolliifolium, D. viridescens, D. xantholeucum	D. ajacis, D. basalticum, D. ×burkei, D. depauperatum, D. distichum, D. glareosum, D. glaucum, D. leucophaeum, D. lineapetalum, D. menziesii, D. multiplex, D. nuttallii, D. occidentale, D. stachydeum, D. sutherlandii, D. trolliifolium, D. viridescens, D. xantholeucum
Web links	Local floras: BC, OR, WA Local Web sites: Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search	Local floras: BC, CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria, Turner Photog. WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Delphinium nuttallianum

two-spike larkspur

thin-petal larkspur, upland larkspur

Habit

Sturdy, grey-puberulent perennial from fleshy roots, the stems 4-7 dm. tall.

Pubescent perennial from fleshy roots, the stems 1.5-4 dm. tall, usually single and simple.

Leaves

Basal and lower cauline leaves long-petiolate, the blades 4-6 cm. broad and divided nearly to the base into 3 segments, which are twice divided into broad segments; lower leaves abruptly transitional into mid-stem leaves, which are short-petiolate, very numerous and overlapping, and finely divided into linear segments.

Leaves few, long-petiolate, mostly basal, the blades 2-6 cm. broad, 2-4 times parted or lobed into linear or oblong-lanceolate segments 1.5-5 mm. broad;

cauline leaves much reduced upward.

Flowers

Inflorescence a many-flowered, spike-like raceme, the pedicels shorter than the calyx spur and strongly ascending;

sepals 5, bluish-purple with lighter streaks, cupped forward, 7-9 mm long, oblong, the spur 11-17 mm. long;

petals 4, small, the lower pair blue, lobed, the upper pair white;

stamens numerous;

pistils 3.

Inflorescence simple or compound, the racemes 3-15 flowered; the lower pedicels several times as long as the flowers, spreading or ascending;

sepals 5, deep purplish-blue, widely spreading, 17-25 mm. long, the lower pair the largest; the spur 13-20 mm. long, from about as long to twice as long as the top sepal;

petals 4, small, the lower pair sometimes brownish or yellow-purplish, or all deep purplish-blue, the blade 3-4 mm. long, deeply bi-lobed;

stamens numerous;

pistils 3.

Fruits

Follicles 8-12 mm. long, erect, usually glandular.

Follicles 15-22 mm. long, somewhat spreading.

Comments

Specimen records from west of the Cascade Mountains need to be re-examined.