Flora of North America species comparison

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Delphinium exaltatum

Delphinium carolinianum

tall larkspur

Carolina larkspur
Stems

70-200 cm;

base reddish, nearly glabrous.

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

base reddish or not, ± 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 round to pentagonal, 1-8 × 2-12 cm, pubescence variable; ultimate lobes 3-29, width 2-10 mm (basal), 1-7 mm (cauline).
Inflorescences

8-30-flowered;

pedicel 0.5-2 cm, puberulent;

bracteoles 2-4 mm from flowers, green, linear, 2-4 mm, puberulent.

(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 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 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.
Fruits

7-12 mm, 2-2.5 times longer than wide, ± puberulent.

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

± wing-margined;

seed coat cells elongate, surfaces smooth.

seed coat cells with surfaces pustulate or smooth.

Delphinium exaltatum

Delphinium carolinianum
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
from FNA
AL; KY; MD; MO; NC; OH; PA; TN; VA; WV
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
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]
Discussion

Subspecies 4 (4 in the flora).

(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. Exaltata Ranunculaceae > Delphinium > sect. Diedropetala > subsect. Virescens
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. carolinianum, D. decorum, D. depauperatum, D. distichum, D. elatum, 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. 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
Name authority Aiton: Hort. Kew. 2: 244. (1789) Walter: Fl. Carol., 155. (1788)
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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