Flora of North America species comparison

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Delphinium nuttallii subsp. ochroleucum

(synonym of Delphinium leucophaeum)

Delphinium decorum
Delphinium leucophaeum

pale larkspur, white rock larkspur

coast larkspur, coastal larkspur, larkspur, low larkspur, yellowtinge larkspur
Stems

30-60 cm.

5-25(-42) cm;

base reddish or not, at least two proximal internodes long-pubescent.
Leaves

blade deltate to pentagonal, 1-2.5 × 1.5-4.5 cm, ± puberulent; ultimate lobes 3-15, width 3-17 mm (basal), 1-8 mm (cauline), widest at middle or in proximal 1/2.
Inflorescences

2-10(-20)-flowered;

pedicel 1-4(-6) cm, puberulent to glabrous;

bracteoles (3-)7-11(-21) mm from flowers, green to blue, linear-lanceolate, 6-9(-12) mm, puberulent.
Flowers

sepals white or light yellow, spurs 9-11 mm;

lower petal blades 4-6 mm.

sepals bluish purple (somewhat faded on drying), puberulent, lateral sepals spreading, (11-)15-20(-24) × 6-11(-15) mm, spur straight, 0-30° above horizontal, 13-20 mm;

lower petal blades ± covering stamens, 6-11 mm, cleft 2-4 mm;

hairs on entire surface, densest on inner lobes, yellow or white.
Fruits

9-20 mm, 3-4.5 times longer than wide, glabrous to puberulent.
Seeds

wing-margined;

seed coat cells ± aggregate in small wavy ridges, cell surfaces ± roughened, without swollen, blunt hairs.
2n

= 16.

Delphinium nuttallii subsp. ochroleucum

Delphinium decorum
Phenology Flowering late spring.
Habitat Rock outcrops, rocky meadows
Elevation 50-100 m (200-300 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
OR
[WildflowerSearch map]
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Of conservation concern.

The range of morphologic features of Delphinium nuttallii subsp. ochroleucum (D. leucophaeum) is almost completely encompassed within that of D. nuttallii subsp. nuttallii. Sepal color is the only feature consistently separating the two subspecies. Were it not for the fact that any given population typically has plants of only one flower color, a rank of forma would be more appropriate.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Subspecies 2 (2 in the flora).

Delphinium decorum and D. menziesii have been confused. Delphinium menziesii usually has darker, colorfast (nonfading) sepals with less lavender, and a more northern distribution than D. decorum. It also has more finely dissected leaves than D. decorum subsp. decorum.

Often confused with Delphinium patens, D. decorum is sometimes circumscribed to include that species. The spreading, fading, blue-purple sepals, pubescent proximal portion of stems, and large lower petal blade of D. decorum, compared to the reflexed, colorfast, bluer sepals, proximally glabrous stems, and smaller lower petal blades of D. patens, adequately distinguish the two taxa.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Leaf blade usually with 3–5 lobes longer than 1/2 leaf radius; 0–100 m.
subsp. decorum
1. Leaf blade usually with more than 5 lobes longer than 1/2 leaf radius; 700–2300 m.
subsp. tracyi
Source FNA vol. 3. FNA vol. 3.
Parent taxa Ranunculaceae > Delphinium > sect. Diedropetala > subsect. Grumosa > Delphinium nuttallii Ranunculaceae > Delphinium > sect. Diedropetala > subsect. Grumosa
Sibling taxa
D. nuttallii subsp. nuttallii, D. nuttallii subsp. ochroleucum
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. 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. decorum subsp. decorum, D. decorum subsp. tracyi
Synonyms D. menziesii var. (ß) ochroleucum, D. leucophaeum
Name authority (Nuttall) M. J. Warnock: Phytologia 78: 98. (1995) Fischer & C. A. Meyer: Ind. Sem. Hort. Petrop. 3: 650. (1837)
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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