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thin-petal larkspur, upland larkspur

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

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 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 15-22 mm. long, somewhat spreading.

Comments

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

Delphinium nuttallianum

Flowering time March-August
Habitat Dry, gravelly ground, sagebrush deserts to the ponderosa pine region in the mountains.
Distribution
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
Conservation status Not of concern
Sibling taxa
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
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