Delphinium cardinale |
Delphinium andesicola |
|
---|---|---|
cardinal larkspur, cardinal or scarlet larkspur, scarlet larkspur |
Chiricahua Mountain larkspur |
|
Stems | (33-)50-150(-280) cm; base reddish, ± puberulent. |
60-200 +cm; base reddish or not, glabrous, glaucous. |
Leaves | blade round to reniform, 3-7 × 5-10 cm, nearly glabrous; ultimate lobes 0-27, width 5-40 mm (basal), 0.5-6 mm (cauline). |
blade cordate to semicircular, 5-8 × 5-12 cm, nearly glabrous; ultimate lobes 5-16, width 3-20 mm, tips gradually tapered to mucronate apex; midcauline leaf lobes more than 3 times longer than wide. |
Inflorescences | 10-40(-80)-flowered, open, narrowly pyramidal; pedicel spreading, (1-)2-5 cm, ± puberulent; bracteoles (2-)7-15(-25) mm from flowers, green, linear, 3-7 mm, glabrous to puberulent. |
20-80-flowered; pedicel 1-2(-3) cm, puberulent; bracteoles 1-3 mm from flowers, green to brown, linear-lanceolate, 3-6 mm, puberulent. |
Flowers | sepals red, glabrous, lateral sepals forward pointing, 11-15 × 5-8 mm, spurs straight, stout, slightly ascending, 15-24 mm; lower petal blades nearly coplanar with claw, exposing stamens, 2-5 mm, clefts 0.5-1.5 mm; hairs centered at base of cleft, short, sparse, yellow. |
sepals purple, puberulent, lateral sepals spreading, 9-12 × 5-7 mm, spurs ascending ca. 45°, curved downward apically, purple, 10-13 mm, blunt tipped; lower petal blades ± covering stamens, 4-6 mm, clefts 1.5-2.5 mm; hairs centered, densest on inner lobes near base of cleft, white. |
Fruits | erect, 9-18 mm, 2.5-4 times longer than wide, glabrous. |
12-15 mm, 3.5-4 times longer than wide, sparsely puberulent. |
Seeds | unwinged; seed coat cells with margins undulate, surfaces roughened. |
unwinged; seed coat cells elongate, surfaces pustulate. |
2n | = 16. |
= 16. |
Delphinium cardinale |
Delphinium andesicola |
|
Phenology | Flowering spring–early summer. | Flowering summer–early fall. |
Habitat | Slopes (often unstable) in chaparral | Meadows and coniferous woods |
Elevation | 50-1500 m (200-4900 ft) | 2200-3200 m (7200-10500 ft) |
Distribution |
CA; Mexico (Baja California, Baja California Sur)
|
AZ |
Discussion | Hybrids between Delphinium cardinale and D. parryi have been named D. ×inflexum Davidson. Because of horticultural interest in red-flowered delphiniums, garden hybrids have been made with D. elatum, D. hesperium, D. hutchinsoniae, D. nudicaule, D. parishii, D. penardii, D. scopulorum, D. tatsienense Franchet, D. uliginosum, and D. zalil Aitchison & Hemsley, although D. cardinale does not grow with any of these in the wild. Plants of Delphinium cardinale are quite variable in size, leaf distribution, and pubescence, resulting in considerable differences between, and sometimes within, populations. No patterns could be seen, however, to justify recognition of separate taxa within D. cardinale. Populations farther south (in Baja California, Mexico) may represent a distinct entity; they require further study. The only possible confusion between Delphinium cardinale (seeds not ringed, fruits erect, grows in relatively dry sites) and another taxon might occur with Delphinium nudicaule (seeds ringed, fruits spreading, grows in moist habitats). The two are separated geographically and phenologically (although D. cardinale may begin flowering in southern California before D. nudicaule has finished in northern California). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Delphinium andesicola, the westernmost representative of the southern Cordilleran complex, is found in the Chiricahua, Huachuca, Graham, and White mountains. Hybrids with Delphinium scopulorum are known. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 3. | FNA vol. 3. |
Parent taxa | Ranunculaceae > Delphinium > sect. Diedropetala > subsect. Wislizenana | Ranunculaceae > Delphinium > sect. Diedropetala > subsect. Exaltata |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | D. andesicola subsp. amplum | |
Name authority | Hooker: Bot. Mag., plate 4887. (1855) | Ewan: J. Washington Acad. Sci. 29: 476. (1939) |
Web links |