Delphinium exaltatum |
Delphinium elatum |
|
---|---|---|
tall larkspur |
candle larkspur, candle larkspur (vascan: harms 2006), larkspur |
|
Stems | 70-200 cm; base reddish, nearly glabrous. |
40-200 cm; base green, pubescent or glabrous. |
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, 3-15 × 6-22 cm, ± puberulent; ultimate lobes 3-9, width 8-30 mm. |
Inflorescences | 8-30-flowered; pedicel 0.5-2 cm, puberulent; bracteoles 2-4 mm from flowers, green, linear, 2-4 mm, puberulent. |
25-100(-more)-flowered; pedicel 1-3(-5) cm, glabrous to pubescent; bracteoles 2-5(-9) mm from flowers, green, linear, 5-9 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 blue, white, or purple, ± puberulent, lateral sepals spreading, 12-23 × 4-12 mm, spurs straight, ascending ca. 45° above horizontal, 15-22 mm; lower petal blades elevated, exposing stamens, 3-5 mm, clefts 0.2-1 mm; hairs sparse or dense, mostly near center of blade, yellow or white. |
Fruits | 7-12 mm, 2-2.5 times longer than wide, ± puberulent. |
13-20 mm, 3.5-4.5 times longer than wide, ± puberulent. |
Seeds | ± wing-margined; seed coat cells elongate, surfaces smooth. |
winged; seed coats ± with small wavy ridges, cells elongate, surface roughened. |
Delphinium exaltatum |
Delphinium elatum |
|
Phenology | Flowering summer. | Flowering summer, more than 8 weeks after snowmelt. |
Habitat | Rocky slopes in open deciduous woods and barrens, mainly on calcareous substrates, also shale and mafic and ultramafic rocks | Old homesites |
Elevation | 150-2000 m (500-6600 ft) | 50-3000 m (200-9800 ft) |
Distribution |
AL; KY; MD; MO; NC; OH; PA; TN; VA; WV
|
BC; MB; SK; and probably elsewhere; native to Europe and w Asia [Introduced in North America] |
Discussion | Delphinium elatum is cultivated as a garden plant or for cut flowers. It is not known to be naturalized extensively in North America; it may persist long after cultivation in cooler parts of the region. (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. Elatopsis > subsect. Elata |
Sibling taxa | ||
Name authority | Aiton: Hort. Kew. 2: 244. (1789) | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 531. (1753) |
Web links |