Burke: Delphinium xantholeucum vs. Delphinium glareosum

	Delphinium xantholeucum	Delphinium glareosum
	yellow-white larkspur	Olympic 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.	Sturdy perennial from a thick, fibrous, woody root, the 1-several stems stout, simple, 2-3 dm. tall.
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 numerous, fleshy, evenly distributed below the inflorescence, but the petioles of the lower and basal leaves proportionately longer, forming a rounded clump; leaf blades 3-8 cm. broad, divided nearly to the base into 3 primary lobes, the lateral lobes again divided into 2-3 parts, the ultimate segments linear to narrowly oblong, entire.
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 loose and broad, the racemes compound, often half the height of the plant, the lower flowers or racemes in leaf axils; pedicels long, stout, spreading; sepals 5, deep purplish-blue, the lower pair 12-16 mm. long, the lateral pair oblanceolate, pointed, the spur 12-17 mm. long, exceeding the blade of the upper sepal; petals 4, small, blue; stamens numerous; pistils 3.
Fruits	Follicles 15-22 mm. long, erect, glabrous to glandular-pubescent.	Follicles spreading, 11-14 mm. long..

	Delphinium xantholeucum	Delphinium glareosum
Flowering time	April-June	May-August
Habitat	Dry, grassy hillsides and ponderosa pine forests.	Alpine and subalpine ridges and talus slopes, sometimes found at lower elevations.
Distribution	Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington, where endemic to Okanogan, Chelan, and Douglas counties. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	Occurring in the Olympics and Cascades Range in Washington; British Columbia to Oregon. [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. 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: OR, WA Local Web sites: 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 xantholeucum

Delphinium glareosum

yellow-white larkspur

Olympic 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.

Sturdy perennial from a thick, fibrous, woody root, the 1-several stems stout, simple, 2-3 dm. tall.

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 numerous, fleshy, evenly distributed below the inflorescence, but the petioles of the lower and basal leaves proportionately longer, forming a rounded clump;

leaf blades 3-8 cm. broad, divided nearly to the base into 3 primary lobes, the lateral lobes again divided into 2-3 parts, the ultimate segments linear to narrowly oblong, entire.

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 loose and broad, the racemes compound, often half the height of the plant, the lower flowers or racemes in leaf axils;

pedicels long, stout, spreading;

sepals 5, deep purplish-blue, the lower pair 12-16 mm. long, the lateral pair oblanceolate, pointed, the spur 12-17 mm. long, exceeding the blade of the upper sepal;

petals 4, small, blue;

stamens numerous;

pistils 3.

Fruits

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

Follicles spreading, 11-14 mm. long..