Burke: Delphinium viridescens vs. Delphinium bicolor

	Delphinium viridescens	Delphinium bicolor
	Wenatchee larkspur
Habit	Stout perennial from a short rhizome, the several hollow stems 8-12 dm. tall, glabrous below but with copious stalked, yellow glands above and throughout the inflorescence.	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 up to 10 cm. broad, divided into 3 main wedge-shaped lobes, these once or twice cleft into oblong-rounded segments; mid-cauline leaves short-petiolate and overlapping, nearly erect, divided into narrow, acute segments, abruptly transitional to the lower leaves, but gradually transitional to the linear, entire, bract-like upper 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 usually a simple, narrow raceme, the pedicels shorter than the flowers; sepals 5, purplish, but strongly streaked with yellow or greenish-yellow, oblanceolate, glandular, 7-11 mm. long; spur thick, straight, 7-10 mm. long; petals 4, yellowish or purple, the lower pair densely soft-hairy, equaling the sepals; 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 6-8 mm. long, erect, densely glandular-pubescent.	Follicles 15-22 mm. long, somewhat spreading.
Comments		Specimen records from west of the Cascade Mountains need to be re-examined.

	Delphinium viridescens	Delphinium bicolor
Flowering time	June-July	March-August
Habitat	Boggy meadowlands.	Dry, gravelly ground, sagebrush deserts to the ponderosa pine region in the mountains.
Distribution	Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington, where endemic to the Wenatchee Mountains of Chelan and Kittitas counties. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county 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	Threatened in Washington (WANHP)	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. nuttallianum, D. nuttallii, D. occidentale, D. stachydeum, D. sutherlandii, D. trolliifolium, 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. nuttallianum, D. nuttallii, D. occidentale, D. stachydeum, D. sutherlandii, D. trolliifolium, D. viridescens, D. xantholeucum
Web links	Local floras: 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, OR 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

Delphinium bicolor

Wenatchee larkspur

Habit

Stout perennial from a short rhizome, the several hollow stems 8-12 dm. tall, glabrous below but with copious stalked, yellow glands above and throughout the inflorescence.

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 up to 10 cm. broad, divided into 3 main wedge-shaped lobes, these once or twice cleft into oblong-rounded segments; mid-cauline leaves short-petiolate and overlapping, nearly erect, divided into narrow, acute segments, abruptly transitional to the lower leaves, but gradually transitional to the linear, entire, bract-like upper 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 usually a simple, narrow raceme, the pedicels shorter than the flowers;

sepals 5, purplish, but strongly streaked with yellow or greenish-yellow, oblanceolate, glandular, 7-11 mm. long;

spur thick, straight, 7-10 mm. long;

petals 4, yellowish or purple, the lower pair densely soft-hairy, equaling the sepals;

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 6-8 mm. long, erect, densely glandular-pubescent.

Follicles 15-22 mm. long, somewhat spreading.

Comments

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