Burke: Delphinium xantholeucum vs. Delphinium bicolor

	Delphinium xantholeucum	Delphinium bicolor
	yellow-white larkspur
Habit	Rather stout perennial from a thick, branching, fibrous root, the single stem 3-8 dm. tall, glabrous below but glandular at least in the inflorescence.	Pubescent perennial from fleshy roots, the stems 1.5-4 dm. tall, usually single and simple.
Leaves	Leaves few, glabrous and glaucous, mostly on the lower 1/5 of the stem; leaf blades 2-7 cm. broad, 3-4 times dissected, the ultimate segments linear, 1-2 mm. broad.	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 compound, the main raceme as long as the rest of the stem, loosely many-flowered; pedicels elongate, spreading; sepals 5, creamy-white to greenish-white, green-tipped, the lateral pair oblong, about 10 mm. long; spur 12-15 mm. long; petals 4, small, creamy-yellow; 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 15-22 mm. long, erect, glabrous to glandular-pubescent.	Follicles 15-22 mm. long, somewhat spreading.
Comments		Specimen records from west of the Cascade Mountains need to be re-examined.

	Delphinium xantholeucum	Delphinium bicolor
Flowering time	April-June	March-August
Habitat	Dry, grassy hillsides and ponderosa pine forests.	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 Okanogan, Chelan, and Douglas 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	Not of concern	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. viridescens	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 xantholeucum

Delphinium bicolor

yellow-white larkspur

Habit

Rather stout perennial from a thick, branching, fibrous root, the single stem 3-8 dm. tall, glabrous below but glandular at least in the inflorescence.

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

Leaves

Leaves few, glabrous and glaucous, mostly on the lower 1/5 of the stem;

leaf blades 2-7 cm. broad, 3-4 times dissected, the ultimate segments linear, 1-2 mm. broad.

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 compound, the main raceme as long as the rest of the stem, loosely many-flowered;

pedicels elongate, spreading;

sepals 5, creamy-white to greenish-white, green-tipped, the lateral pair oblong, about 10 mm. long;

spur 12-15 mm. long;

petals 4, small, creamy-yellow;

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 15-22 mm. long, erect, glabrous to glandular-pubescent.

Follicles 15-22 mm. long, somewhat spreading.

Comments

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