Flora of North America species comparison

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Delphinium nuttallii subsp. ochroleucum

(synonym of Delphinium leucophaeum)

Delphinium sapellonis
Delphinium leucophaeum

pale larkspur, white rock larkspur

Sapello Canyon larkspur
Stems

30-60 cm.

(50-)100-180(-220) cm;

base sometimes reddish, glabrous sometimes glaucous.
Leaves

blade round to pentagonal, 6-10 × 8-16 cm, nearly glabrous; ultimate lobes 5-15, width 5-25 mm.
Inflorescences

(12-)30-80(-120)-flowered;

pedicel 0.5-2 cm, glandular-puberulent;

bracteoles 3-5 mm from flowers, green to purple, linear, 5-8 mm, glandular-puberulent.
Flowers

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

lower petal blades 4-6 mm.

sepals (in bud) yellowish or brownish purple, becoming browner or yellower with age, glandular-puberulent, lateral sepals forward pointing, 8-12 × 3-5 mm, spurs straight, ascending 20-45° above horizontal, 8-11 mm;

lower petal blades slightly elevated, ± exposing stamens, 2.5-5 mm, clefts 1-2 mm;

hairs centered, mostly above base of cleft, yellow.
Fruits

12-18 mm, 3-4 times longer than wide, puberulent.
Seeds

wing-margined;

seed coat cells elongate, surfaces smooth.
2n

= 16.

Delphinium nuttallii subsp. ochroleucum

Delphinium sapellonis
Phenology Flowering late spring. Flowering summer.
Habitat Rock outcrops, rocky meadows Subalpine meadows and open coniferous forest
Elevation 50-100 m (200-300 ft) 2600-3500 m (8500-11500 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
OR
[WildflowerSearch map]
from FNA
NM
[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.)

Delphinium sapellonis hybridizes with D. barbeyi and D. robustum. It replaces D. robustum and represents the southern Cordilleran complex at higher elevations of the southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains east of Santa Fe. It is not known elsewhere.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 3. FNA vol. 3.
Parent taxa Ranunculaceae > Delphinium > sect. Diedropetala > subsect. Grumosa > Delphinium nuttallii Ranunculaceae > Delphinium > sect. Diedropetala > subsect. Exaltata
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. 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. 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
Synonyms D. menziesii var. (ß) ochroleucum, D. leucophaeum
Name authority (Nuttall) M. J. Warnock: Phytologia 78: 98. (1995) Tidestrom: Bot. Gaz. 34: 453. (1902)
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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