Delphinium exaltatum |
Delphinium alabamicum |
|
---|---|---|
tall larkspur |
Alabama larkspur |
|
Stems | 70-200 cm; base reddish, nearly glabrous. |
(45-)60-90(-130) cm; base reddish, pubescent. |
Leaves | blade pentagonal, 2-7 × 3-9 cm, puberulent; ultimate lobes 3-7, width 5-25 mm; midcauline leaf lobes less than 3 times longer than wide. |
blade reniform to semicircular, 2-11 × 3-19 cm, nearly glabrous; ultimate lobes 3-35, width 3-8 mm (basal), 0.5-3 mm (cauline), widest at middle or in proximal 1/2. |
Inflorescences | 8-30-flowered; pedicel 0.5-2 cm, puberulent; bracteoles 2-4 mm from flowers, green, linear, 2-4 mm, puberulent. |
5-27-flowered; pedicel 1-5 cm, puberulent; bracteoles 3-12 mm from flowers, green, linear, 2-8 mm, puberulent. |
Flowers | sepals whitish to pale lavender or purple, puberulent, lateral sepals forward pointing, 9-11 × 4-6 mm, spurs straight, as much as 45° above or below horizontal, 9-12 mm; lower petal blades ± covering stamens, 3-5 mm, clefts 1-2 mm; hairs centered, mostly near base of cleft, white. |
sepals royal blue, ± drab, often partly fading upon drying, puberulent, lateral sepals spreading, 12-20 × 5-10 mm, spurs straight, horizontal to slightly ascending, (13-)15-16.5(-19) mm; lower petal blades ± covering reproductive parts, 4-10 mm, clefts 3-5 mm; hairs centered between claw and base of cleft, covering most of adaxial surface, white. |
Fruits | 7-12 mm, 2-2.5 times longer than wide, ± puberulent. |
11-18 mm, 2.5-3 times longer than wide, sparsely puberulent. |
Seeds | ± wing-margined; seed coat cells elongate, surfaces smooth. |
unwinged; surface of each seed coat cell with with swollen, blunt, hairlike structures, barely visible at 20x, otherwise smooth. |
2n | = 16. |
|
Delphinium exaltatum |
Delphinium alabamicum |
|
Phenology | Flowering summer. | Flowering mid-late spring. |
Habitat | Rocky slopes in open deciduous woods and barrens, mainly on calcareous substrates, also shale and mafic and ultramafic rocks | Very local, thin soils in and on edges of Juniperus glades on limestone substrates |
Elevation | 150-2000 m (500-6600 ft) | 100-300 m (300-1000 ft) |
Distribution |
AL; KY; MD; MO; NC; OH; PA; TN; VA; WV
|
AL; GA
|
Discussion | Of conservation concern. In addition to the Alabama sites, Delphinium alabamicum is known from one population in Georgia; it might have been transplanted there. Delphinium alabamicum has not been seen in central Alabama since 1950; populations there might have been extirpated. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
|
Source | FNA vol. 3. | FNA vol. 3. |
Parent taxa | Ranunculaceae > Delphinium > sect. Diedropetala > subsect. Exaltata | Ranunculaceae > Delphinium > sect. Diedropetala > subsect. Grumosa |
Sibling taxa | ||
Name authority | Aiton: Hort. Kew. 2: 244. (1789) | Kral: Sida 6: 250. (1976) |
Web links |