Delphinium exaltatum |
Delphinium scaposum |
|
---|---|---|
tall larkspur |
bare-stem larkspur, desert larkspur, tall mountain larkspur |
|
Stems | 70-200 cm; base reddish, nearly glabrous. |
25-50(-65) cm; base usually reddish, glabrous, glaucous. |
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, 0.5-4 × 0.5-6 cm, puberulent to glabrous; ultimate lobes 3-9, width 2-15 mm (basal), 0.5-3 mm (cauline). |
Inflorescences | 8-30-flowered; pedicel 0.5-2 cm, puberulent; bracteoles 2-4 mm from flowers, green, linear, 2-4 mm, puberulent. |
10-25(-40)-flowered, cylindric; pedicel ascending, 0.6-2.5 cm, glabrous; bracteoles 2-5 mm from flowers, green to blue, linear-lanceolate, 2-4 mm, glabrous. |
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 bright dark blue, glabrous, lateral sepals spreading, 11-14 × 4-6 mm, spurs straight, sometimes decurved, ascending 30-45° above horizontal, 13-18 mm; lower petal blades elevated, exposing stamens, 5-8 mm, cleft 2-4 mm; hairs mostly centered on inner lobes near junction of blade and claw, white. |
Fruits | 7-12 mm, 2-2.5 times longer than wide, ± puberulent. |
12-16 mm, 2.5-3 times longer than wide, glabrous. |
Seeds | ± wing-margined; seed coat cells elongate, surfaces smooth. |
seed coat cells ± brick-shaped, cell margins straight, surfaces smooth. |
2n | = 16. |
|
Delphinium exaltatum |
Delphinium scaposum |
|
Phenology | Flowering summer. | Flowering spring. |
Habitat | Rocky slopes in open deciduous woods and barrens, mainly on calcareous substrates, also shale and mafic and ultramafic rocks | Juniper woods, grassland |
Elevation | 150-2000 m (500-6600 ft) | 1200-2700 m (3900-8900 ft) |
Distribution |
AL; KY; MD; MO; NC; OH; PA; TN; VA; WV
|
AZ; CO; NM; UT
|
Discussion | Delphinium scaposum is reportedly used in Navajo and Hopi religous ceremonies, as well as for a wash following childbirth (D. E. Moerman 1986). (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. Subscaposa |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | D. andersonii var. scaposum | |
Name authority | Aiton: Hort. Kew. 2: 244. (1789) | Greene: Bot. Gaz. 6: 156. 1881, not D. scaposum W. T. Wang (1957) |
Web links |