Flora of North America species comparison

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Delphinium barbeyi

Delphinium decorum

Barbey larkspur, Barbey's larkspur, subalpine larkspur, tall larkspur

coast larkspur, coastal larkspur, larkspur, low larkspur, yellowtinge larkspur
Stems

50-150 cm;

base green, glabrous.

5-25(-42) cm;

base reddish or not, at least two proximal internodes long-pubescent.
Leaves

blade round to reniform, 4-8 × 7-15 cm, glabrous; ultimate lobes 5-9, width 8-50 mm.

blade deltate to pentagonal, 1-2.5 × 1.5-4.5 cm, ± puberulent; ultimate lobes 3-15, width 3-17 mm (basal), 1-8 mm (cauline), widest at middle or in proximal 1/2.
Inflorescences

10-50-flowered;

pedicel 0.5-6 cm, glandular-puberulent;

bracteoles 1-4(-8) mm from flowers, blue to green, awl-shaped, 5-14 mm, puberulent.

2-10(-20)-flowered;

pedicel 1-4(-6) cm, puberulent to glabrous;

bracteoles (3-)7-11(-21) mm from flowers, green to blue, linear-lanceolate, 6-9(-12) mm, puberulent.
Flowers

sepals dark bluish purple, sparsely puberulent, lateral sepals forward pointing, 13-23 × 5-8 mm, spurs ascending ca. 45°, downcurved apically, 10-18 mm;

lower petal blades ± covering stamens, 4-7 mm, clefts 2-3 mm;

hairs centered, mostly near base of cleft, sparse elsewhere, white or yellow.

sepals bluish purple (somewhat faded on drying), puberulent, lateral sepals spreading, (11-)15-20(-24) × 6-11(-15) mm, spur straight, 0-30° above horizontal, 13-20 mm;

lower petal blades ± covering stamens, 6-11 mm, cleft 2-4 mm;

hairs on entire surface, densest on inner lobes, yellow or white.
Fruits

17-22 mm, 2.5-3 times longer than wide, puberulent.

9-20 mm, 3-4.5 times longer than wide, glabrous to puberulent.
Seeds

wing-margined;

seed coat cells narrow but short, surfaces pustulate.

wing-margined;

seed coat cells ± aggregate in small wavy ridges, cell surfaces ± roughened, without swollen, blunt hairs.
2n

= 16.

Delphinium barbeyi

Delphinium decorum
Phenology Flowering summer.
Habitat Subalpine and alpine sites in wet soils
Elevation 2500-4100 m (8200-13500 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CO; NM; UT; WY
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Delphinium barbeyi hybridizes extensively with D. glaucum in western Colorado and eastern Utah, where plants appearing to be hybrid [D. ×occidentale (S. Watson) S. Watson] are often far more common than plants of either putative parent. Several other names have been used for these plants, including D. elatum var. occidentale S. Watson, D. abietorum Tidestrom, and D. scopulorum subsp. occidentale (S. Watson) Abrams. Delphinium barbeyi is also known to hybridize with D. ramosum and D. sapellonis.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Subspecies 2 (2 in the flora).

Delphinium decorum and D. menziesii have been confused. Delphinium menziesii usually has darker, colorfast (nonfading) sepals with less lavender, and a more northern distribution than D. decorum. It also has more finely dissected leaves than D. decorum subsp. decorum.

Often confused with Delphinium patens, D. decorum is sometimes circumscribed to include that species. The spreading, fading, blue-purple sepals, pubescent proximal portion of stems, and large lower petal blade of D. decorum, compared to the reflexed, colorfast, bluer sepals, proximally glabrous stems, and smaller lower petal blades of D. patens, adequately distinguish the two taxa.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Leaf blade usually with 3–5 lobes longer than 1/2 leaf radius; 0–100 m.
subsp. decorum
1. Leaf blade usually with more than 5 lobes longer than 1/2 leaf radius; 700–2300 m.
subsp. tracyi
Source FNA vol. 3. FNA vol. 3.
Parent taxa Ranunculaceae > Delphinium > sect. Diedropetala > subsect. Exaltata Ranunculaceae > Delphinium > sect. Diedropetala > subsect. Grumosa
Sibling taxa
D. alabamicum, D. alpestre, D. andersonii, D. andesicola, D. antoninum, D. bakeri, D. basalticum, D. bicolor, D. brachycentrum, D. californicum, D. cardinale, D. carolinianum, D. decorum, D. depauperatum, D. distichum, D. elatum, D. exaltatum, D. geraniifolium, D. geyeri, D. glareosum, D. glaucescens, D. glaucum, D. gracilentum, D. gypsophilum, D. hansenii, D. hesperium, D. hutchinsoniae, D. inopinum, D. lineapetalum, D. luteum, D. madrense, D. menziesii, D. multiplex, D. newtonianum, D. novomexicanum, D. nudicaule, D. nuttallianum, D. nuttallii, D. parishii, D. parryi, D. patens, D. polycladon, D. purpusii, D. ramosum, D. recurvatum, D. robustum, D. sapellonis, D. scaposum, D. scopulorum, D. stachydeum, D. sutherlandii, D. treleasei, D. tricorne, D. trolliifolium, D. uliginosum, D. umbraculorum, D. variegatum, D. viridescens, D. wootonii, D. xantholeucum
D. alabamicum, D. alpestre, D. andersonii, D. andesicola, D. antoninum, D. bakeri, D. barbeyi, D. basalticum, D. bicolor, D. brachycentrum, D. californicum, D. cardinale, D. carolinianum, D. depauperatum, D. distichum, D. elatum, D. exaltatum, D. geraniifolium, D. geyeri, D. glareosum, D. glaucescens, D. glaucum, D. gracilentum, D. gypsophilum, D. hansenii, D. hesperium, D. hutchinsoniae, D. inopinum, D. lineapetalum, D. luteum, D. madrense, D. menziesii, D. multiplex, D. newtonianum, D. novomexicanum, D. nudicaule, D. nuttallianum, D. nuttallii, D. parishii, D. parryi, D. patens, D. polycladon, D. purpusii, D. ramosum, D. recurvatum, D. robustum, D. sapellonis, D. scaposum, D. scopulorum, D. stachydeum, D. sutherlandii, D. treleasei, D. tricorne, D. trolliifolium, D. uliginosum, D. umbraculorum, D. variegatum, D. viridescens, D. wootonii, D. xantholeucum
Subordinate taxa
D. decorum subsp. decorum, D. decorum subsp. tracyi
Synonyms D. exaltatum var. (e) barbeyi, D. occidentale var. barbeyi
Name authority (Huth) Huth: Bull. Herb. Boissier 1: 335. (1893) Fischer & C. A. Meyer: Ind. Sem. Hort. Petrop. 3: 650. (1837)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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