Delphinium exaltatum |
Delphinium nudicaule |
|
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tall larkspur |
canyon delphinium, canyon larkspur, orange larkspur, red larkspur, red or orange larkspur, scarlet larkspur |
|
Stems | 70-200 cm; base reddish, nearly glabrous. |
(15-)20-50(-125) cm; base reddish, 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, 2-6 × 3-10 cm; ultimate lobes 3-12, width 5-40 mm (basal), 2-20 mm (cauline). |
Inflorescences | 8-30-flowered; pedicel 0.5-2 cm, puberulent; bracteoles 2-4 mm from flowers, green, linear, 2-4 mm, puberulent. |
5-20(-69)-flowered; pedicel (1.5-)2-6(-8) cm, glabrous to glandular-pubescent; bracteoles 14-20(-30) mm from flowers, green to red, linear, 2-4(-9) mm, glabrous to 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 scarlet to reddish orange, rarely dull yellow, glabrous, lateral sepals forward-pointing to form pseudotube, (6-)8-13(-16) × 3-6 mm, spurs straight, slightly ascending, (12-)18-27(-34) mm; lower petal blades elevated, exposing stamens, 2-3 mm, clefts 0.5-1 mm; hairs sparse, evenly dispersed, yellow. |
Fruits | 7-12 mm, 2-2.5 times longer than wide, ± puberulent. |
13-26 mm, 3.5-4.5 times longer than wide, glabrous. |
Seeds | ± wing-margined; seed coat cells elongate, surfaces smooth. |
unwinged or sometimes slightly wing-margined; seed coat cells with surfaces smooth. |
2n | = 16. |
|
Delphinium exaltatum |
Delphinium nudicaule |
|
Phenology | Flowering summer. | Flowering late winter–early summer. |
Habitat | Rocky slopes in open deciduous woods and barrens, mainly on calcareous substrates, also shale and mafic and ultramafic rocks | Moist talus, cliff faces |
Elevation | 150-2000 m (500-6600 ft) | 0-2600 m (0-8500 ft) |
Distribution |
AL; KY; MD; MO; NC; OH; PA; TN; VA; WV
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CA; OR
|
Discussion | Delphinium nudicaule hybridizes with most other taxa of Delphinium that it encounters. Apparent hybrids involving D. nudicaule, and seen by the author (either afield or as specimens), include D. andersonii, D. antoninum, D. decorum, D. luteum, D. nuttallianum, D. patens, and D. trolliifolium. In addition, garden-grown plants have been hybridized with D. cardinale, D. elatum, D. menziesii, D. parishii, D. penardii, D. tatsienense Franchet, D. triste Fischer ex de Candolle, and D. uliginosum; D. nudicaule does not naturally occur with these species. Delphinium nudicaule is one of the earliest larkspurs to flower in any given locality. Douglas's type collection of D. nudicaule represents plants (synonyms D. sarcophyllum Hooker & Arnott and D. peltatum Hooker, an invalid name) grown under very moist conditions, probably quite near the ocean. The type specimen of D. armeniacum A. Heller represents plants grown under unusually dry conditions. The Mendocino Indians consider Delphinium nudicaule a narcotic (D. E. Moerman 1986). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Source | FNA vol. 3. | FNA vol. 3. |
Parent taxa | Ranunculaceae > Delphinium > sect. Diedropetala > subsect. Exaltata | Ranunculaceae > Delphinium > sect. Diedropetala > subsect. Bicoloria |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | D. armeniacum | |
Name authority | Aiton: Hort. Kew. 2: 244. (1789) | Torrey & A. Gray: Fl. N. Amer. 1: 33. (1838) |
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