Flora of North America species comparison

The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.

enable glossary links

Delphinium bicolor

Delphinium parishii

Flathead larkspur, little larkspur, low larkspur, Montana larkspur

desert larkspur, Parish's larkspur

Stems

10-40(-70) cm;

base often reddish, glabrous to puberulent.

(17-)30-60(-100) cm;

base reddish or not, glabrous to puberulent.

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, 0.7-5 × 1-8 cm, glabrous to puberulent; ultimate lobes 3-18, width 2-18 mm (basal), 0.5-8 mm (cauline).

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.

(6-)10-40(-74)-flowered, cylindric;

pedicel ascending-spreading, (0.3-)1-2.5(-4.8) cm, glabrous to puberulent;

bracteoles 2-5(-10) mm from flowers, green, lance-linear, 2-6(-16) mm, glabrous to 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 blue to white to pink, often puberulent, lateral sepals reflexed or spreading, (7-)9-13 × 2-7 mm, spurs ± decurved, ascending 20-45° above horizontal, 7-15 mm;

lower petal blades ± elevated, exposing stamens, blue or white to pink (concolorous with sepals), 3-6 mm, clefts 1-3 mm;

hairs 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.

9-21 mm, 2-4 times longer than wide, glabrous to puberulent.

Seeds

often winged;

seed coat cells with surfaces ± smooth.

seed coat cells ± brick-shaped, cell margins undulate, surfaces roughened.

Delphinium bicolor

Delphinium parishii

Distribution

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

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

AZ; CA; NV; UT; nw Mexico

[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.)

Subspecies 3 (3 in the flora).

(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

1. Lateral sepals reflexed; sepals bright, ± sky blue.	subsp. parishii
1. Lateral sepals not reflexed; sepals dark blue or white to pink.	→ 2
2. Sepals dark blue; flowers rarely present after 20 May.	subsp. subglobosum
2. Sepals white, pinkish, or purplish; flowers rarely present before 20 May.	subsp. pallidum

Source

FNA vol. 3.

Parent taxa

Ranunculaceae > Delphinium > sect. Diedropetala > subsect. Bicoloria

Ranunculaceae > Delphinium > sect. Diedropetala > subsect. Subscaposa

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. bakeri, 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. 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

D. parishii subsp. pallidum, D. parishii subsp. parishii, D. parishii subsp. subglobosum

Name authority

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

A. Gray: Bot. Gaz. 12: 53. (1887)

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

The species comparison tool is brought to you by: