Delphinium exaltatum |
Delphinium californicum |
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tall larkspur |
California larkspur, coast larkspur |
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Stems | 70-200 cm; base reddish, nearly glabrous. |
(60-)100-160(-230) cm; base reddish, puberulent-glabrous. |
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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 pentagonal to round, 3-9 × 3-12 cm, puberulent; ultimate lobes 3-15, width 5-60 mm; midcauline leaf lobes less than 3 times longer than wide. |
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Inflorescences | 8-30-flowered; pedicel 0.5-2 cm, puberulent; bracteoles 2-4 mm from flowers, green, linear, 2-4 mm, puberulent. |
(16-)40-90(-162)-flowered; pedicel 0.5-2.5(-6.5) cm, puberulent; bracteoles 2-5 mm from flowers, reddish, linear, (3-)7-12(-15) mm, puberulent. |
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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 lavender to greenish white, abaxially puberulent, lateral sepals forward pointing to form a pseudotube, 6-11 × 5-7 mm, spurs straight, slightly ascending, apically downcurved, 7-11(-14) mm; lower petal blades elevated, ± exposing stamens, 3-5 mm, clefts 1.5-2.5 mm; hairs covering adaxial surface, white or light yellow. |
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Fruits | 7-12 mm, 2-2.5 times longer than wide, ± puberulent. |
11-16 mm, 2.5-3.5 times longer than wide, glabrous to sparsely puberulent. |
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Seeds | ± wing-margined; seed coat cells elongate, surfaces smooth. |
unwinged; seed coat cells elongate, surfaces ± roughened. |
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Delphinium exaltatum |
Delphinium californicum |
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Phenology | Flowering summer. | |||||
Habitat | Rocky slopes in open deciduous woods and barrens, mainly on calcareous substrates, also shale and mafic and ultramafic rocks | |||||
Elevation | 150-2000 m (500-6600 ft) | |||||
Distribution |
AL; KY; MD; MO; NC; OH; PA; TN; VA; WV
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CA
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Discussion | Subspecies 2 (2 in the flora). Delphinium californicum can be confused only with D. glaucum or D. exaltatum. The three species may be separated by the abundant pubescence and early flowering date of D. californicum as compared to the other two taxa, low elevation sites of D. californicum compared to D. glaucum, and western geographic distribution of D. californicum compared to D. exaltatum. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 3. | FNA vol. 3. | ||||
Parent taxa | Ranunculaceae > Delphinium > sect. Diedropetala > subsect. Exaltata | Ranunculaceae > Delphinium > sect. Diedropetala > subsect. Exaltata | ||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||
Name authority | Aiton: Hort. Kew. 2: 244. (1789) | Torrey & A. Gray: Fl. N. Amer. 1: 31. (1838) | ||||
Web links |