Flora of North America species comparison

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Delphinium bakeri

Flathead larkspur, little larkspur, low larkspur, Montana larkspur

Baker's delphinium, Baker's larkspur

Stems

10-40(-70) cm;

base often reddish, glabrous to puberulent.

(45-)60-85(-100) cm;

base reddish, glabrous.

Leaves

blade round, 1-4 × 1.5-7 cm, glabrous to puberulent; ultimate lobes 3-19, width 1-8 mm (basal), 1-3 mm (cauline).

blade pentagonal to round, 1-6 × 1.5-8 cm, margins crenate, glabrous; ultimate lobes 3-5, width 2-5 mm (basal), 5-30 mm (cauline), widest at middle or in proximal 1/2.

Inflorescences

3-12(-22)-flowered;

pedicel 1-4(-8) cm, ± puberulent;

bracteoles 2-7(-17) mm from flowers, green, sometimes white-margined, lanceolate, 4-6(-8) mm, puberulent.

8-23-flowered, at least 2 times longer than wide;

pedicel 1-6(-9) cm, glandular-puberulent;

bracteoles 4-6 mm from flowers, green to blue, lance-linear, 5-8(-13) mm, glabrous to glandular-puberulent.

Flowers

sepals dark blue, puberulent, lateral sepals usually spreading, 16-21 × 6-12 mm, spurs straight to gently decurved, ascending 0-40° above horizontal, 13-23 mm;

lower petal blades covering stamens, 7-12 mm, clefts 0.1-3 mm;

hairs sparse, short, mostly on inner lobes below junction of blade and claw, white or yellow.

sepals dark bluish purple, nearly glabrous, lateral sepals spreading, 9-11 × 4-5 mm, spur apex decurved, ± horizontal, 9-13 mm;

lower petal blades ± covering stamens, 5-7 mm, clefts 2-3 mm;

hairs sparse, mostly near base of cleft, centered or on inner lobes, white.

Fruits

(12-)16-22 mm, 4-4.5 times longer than wide, usually puberulent.

18-20 mm, 3.5-4 times longer than wide, glabrous.

Seeds

often winged;

seed coat cells with surfaces ± smooth.

unwinged;

seed coats smooth.

Delphinium bakeri

Phenology

Flowering spring.

Habitat

Brushlands and coastal chaparral

Elevation

100-300 m (300-1000 ft)

Distribution

ID; MT; ND; NE; SD; WY; AB; BC; SK

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

Discussion

Subspecies 2 (2 in the flora).

Delphinium bicolor is closely related to D. glareosum; it differs in its wider-lobed cauline leaves, shallower petal clefts, and narrower fruits.

The Gosiute consider this plant to be poisonous (D. E. Moerman 1986, subspecies not specified).

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

Of conservation concern.

Delphinium bakeri is possibly extinct in the wild because of cultivation and sheep grazing in the small area where it grows. It is known from only two localities and has not been collected since 1960. Plants have been grown at Strybing Arboretum, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. Although their geographic ranges are distinct, D. bakeri is most similar to, and probably closely related to, D. trolliifolium. The former has more rounded incisions on the leaves than the latter, and the pedicel of D. bakeri are consistently glandular. Glandular pedicel appear only occasionally in D. trolliifolium.

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

Key

1. Sepals (especially in fresh material) dark blue to purple; cleft in lower petals 2 mm or less; soils not derived from limestone.	subsp. bicolor
1. Sepals (especially in fresh material) bright dark blue; cleft in lower petals at least 2 mm; soils derived from limestone.	subsp. calcicola

Source

FNA vol. 3.

Parent taxa

Ranunculaceae > Delphinium > sect. Diedropetala > subsect. Bicoloria

Ranunculaceae > Delphinium > sect. Diedropetala > subsect. Grumosa

Sibling taxa

D. alabamicum, D. alpestre, D. andersonii, D. andesicola, D. antoninum, D. bakeri, D. barbeyi, D. basalticum, 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. barbeyi, 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

Subordinate taxa

D. bicolor subsp. bicolor, D. bicolor subsp. calcicola

Name authority

Nuttall: J. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 7: 10. (1834)

Ewan: Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 69: 144. (1942)

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).

Choose a data source: Flora of North America, OregonFlora

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