Flora of North America species comparison

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Delphinium carolinianum

Delphinium carolinianum subsp. virescens

(synonym of Delphinium subsect. Virescens)

Carolina larkspur
Roots

without elongate central axis;

fascicles 2-8, ± horizontal.
Stems

(20-)40-90(-150) cm;

base reddish or not, ± pubescent.

50-80 cm.
Leaves

blade round to pentagonal, 1-8 × 2-12 cm, pubescence variable; ultimate lobes 3-29, width 2-10 mm (basal), 1-7 mm (cauline).

blade with 5 or more major divisions; ultimate lobes of midcauline leaf blades 5-15, width 2-6 mm.
Inflorescences

(3-)8-27(-94)-flowered;

pedicel (0.4-)0.7-1.8(-5.7) cm, nearly glabrous to glandular;

bracteoles 1-3.5(-6) mm from flowers, green or blue, linear, 2-7 mm, pubescence nearly glabrous to glandular.

Flowers

sepals purple to blue to white, nearly glabrous, lateral sepals spreading, (7-)9-14(-17) × (3-)3.5-6(-8) mm, spurs ± upcurved, ascending 20-90° above vertical, (9-)11-17(-19) mm;

lower petal blades ± covering stamens, 5-7 mm, cleft 2-4 mm;

hairs centered, densest near base of cleft, white, sometimes blue or yellow.

sepals white to very pale blue.
Fruits

(10-)12.5-18.5(-27) mm, 4-4.5 times longer than wide, glabrous to puberulent.

Seeds

seed coat cells with surfaces pustulate or smooth.

2n

= 16.

Delphinium carolinianum

Delphinium carolinianum subsp. virescens
Phenology Flowering late winter–early summer.
Habitat Prairies, sandy, loamy, or clay soils
Elevation 250-2000 m (800-6600 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; CO; FL; GA; IA; IL; KS; KY; LA; MN; MO; MS; NC; ND; NE; OK; SC; SD; TN; TX; WI; MB; Mexico
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CO; IA; KS; MN; MO; ND; NE; OK; SD; TX; WI; MB
Discussion

Subspecies 4 (4 in the flora).

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

Delphinium carolinianum subsp. virescens is known to hybridize with D. madrense and with D. wootonii.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Basal leaves absent at anthesis, cauline leaves divided into many narrow (less than 2 mm wide) segments, blade not distinctly 3-parted; distalmost petiole less than 5 mm; sepals usually blue or purple (rarely white).
subsp. carolinianum
1. Basal leaves usually present at anthesis, and/or cauline leaf lobes usually wider than 2 mm, blade often distinctly 3-parted or more; distalmost petiole more than 5 mm; sepals blue or white.
→ 2
2. Leaf blade distinctly 3-parted with few additional divisions; sepals blue to white; roots usually ± vertical, often without major branches.
subsp. vimineum
2. Leaf blade with 3–5 or more major divisions, each further divided into segments; sepals white to very pale blue; roots ±horizontal with several major branches.
→ 3
3. Stems usually less than 45 cm; in thin soils over limestone in clearings of deciduous woods; leaf blade with 3 major divisions; e of Mississippi River.
subsp. calciphilum
3. Stems usually more than 45 cm; in deeper soils in grasslands; leaf blade with 5 or more major divisions; w of Mississippi River.
subsp. virescens
Source FNA vol. 3. FNA vol. 3.
Parent taxa Ranunculaceae > Delphinium > sect. Diedropetala > subsect. Virescens Ranunculaceae > Delphinium > sect. Diedropetala > subsect. Virescens > Delphinium carolinianum
Sibling taxa
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. 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. carolinianum subsp. calciphilum, D. carolinianum subsp. carolinianum, D. carolinianum subsp. vimineum, D. carolinianum subsp. virescens
Synonyms D. virescens, D. virescens var. macroseratilis, D. virescens var. penardii
Name authority Walter: Fl. Carol., 155. (1788) (Nuttall) R. E. Brooks: Phytologia 60: 8. (1982)
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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