FNA: Delphinium leucophaeum vs. Delphinium viridescens

	Delphinium nuttallii subsp. ochroleucum (synonym of Delphinium leucophaeum)	Delphinium viridescens
	pale larkspur, white rock larkspur	Wenatchee larkspur
Stems	30-60 cm.	90-150 cm; base usually green, glabrous.
Leaves		blade cuneate to semicircular, 2-5 × 3-12 cm, nearly glabrous; ultimate lobes 3-21, width 1-8 mm.
Inflorescences		25-80-flowered, dense; pedicel 0.5-2 cm, glandular-pubescent; bracteoles 1-4 mm from flowers, green, lanceolate, 3.5-6 mm, glandular-pubescent.
Flowers	sepals white or light yellow, spurs 9-11 mm; lower petal blades 4-6 mm.	sepals yellowish green, nearly glabrous, lateral sepals forward pointing, 7-9 × 3-4 mm, spurs decurved, 30-45° below horizontal, often hooked apically, 8-11 mm; lower petal blades ± covering stamens, 4-6 mm, clefts 0.5-1.5 mm; hairs centered, mostly near junction of blade and claw, yellow.
Fruits		8-11 mm, 2.5-3 times longer than wide, puberulent.
Seeds		± wing-margined; seed coat cells with surfaces ± roughened.
2n	= 16.

	Delphinium nuttallii subsp. ochroleucum	Delphinium viridescens
Phenology	Flowering late spring.	Flowering summer.
Habitat	Rock outcrops, rocky meadows	Wet meadows and streamsides in coniferous forest, heavy clay soils
Elevation	50-100 m (200-300 ft)	500-1000 m (1600-3300 ft)
Distribution	OR [WildflowerSearch map]	WA [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.)	Of conservation concern. Delphinium viridescens is local in mountains southwest of Wenatchee, Washington. (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. Multiplex
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. sapellonis, D. scaposum, D. scopulorum, D. stachydeum, D. sutherlandii, D. treleasei, D. tricorne, D. trolliifolium, D. uliginosum, D. umbraculorum, D. variegatum, D. wootonii, D. xantholeucum
Synonyms	D. menziesii var. (ß) ochroleucum, D. leucophaeum
Name authority	(Nuttall) M. J. Warnock: Phytologia 78: 98. (1995)	Leiberg: Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. 11: 39. (1897)
Web links	Local floras: OR, WA Local Web sites: Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search	Local floras: WA Local Web sites: Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Delphinium nuttallii subsp. ochroleucum

(synonym of Delphinium leucophaeum)

Delphinium viridescens

pale larkspur, white rock larkspur

Wenatchee larkspur

Stems

30-60 cm.

90-150 cm;

base usually green, glabrous.

Leaves

blade cuneate to semicircular, 2-5 × 3-12 cm, nearly glabrous; ultimate lobes 3-21, width 1-8 mm.

Inflorescences

25-80-flowered, dense;

pedicel 0.5-2 cm, glandular-pubescent;

bracteoles 1-4 mm from flowers, green, lanceolate, 3.5-6 mm, glandular-pubescent.

Flowers

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

lower petal blades 4-6 mm.

sepals yellowish green, nearly glabrous, lateral sepals forward pointing, 7-9 × 3-4 mm, spurs decurved, 30-45° below horizontal, often hooked apically, 8-11 mm;

lower petal blades ± covering stamens, 4-6 mm, clefts 0.5-1.5 mm;

hairs centered, mostly near junction of blade and claw, yellow.

Fruits

8-11 mm, 2.5-3 times longer than wide, puberulent.

Seeds

± wing-margined;

seed coat cells with surfaces ± roughened.

= 16.

Delphinium nuttallii subsp. ochroleucum

Delphinium viridescens

Phenology

Flowering late spring.

Flowering summer.

Habitat

Rock outcrops, rocky meadows

Wet meadows and streamsides in coniferous forest, heavy clay soils

Elevation

50-100 m (200-300 ft)

500-1000 m (1600-3300 ft)

Distribution

[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.)

Of conservation concern.

Delphinium viridescens is local in mountains southwest of Wenatchee, Washington.

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

Source

FNA vol. 3.

Parent taxa

Ranunculaceae > Delphinium > sect. Diedropetala > subsect. Grumosa > Delphinium nuttallii

Ranunculaceae > Delphinium > sect. Diedropetala > subsect. Multiplex

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. sapellonis, D. scaposum, D. scopulorum, D. stachydeum, D. sutherlandii, D. treleasei, D. tricorne, D. trolliifolium, D. uliginosum, D. umbraculorum, D. variegatum, D. wootonii, D. xantholeucum

Synonyms

D. menziesii var. (ß) ochroleucum, D. leucophaeum

Name authority

(Nuttall) M. J. Warnock: Phytologia 78: 98. (1995)

Leiberg: Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. 11: 39. (1897)

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).

Choose a data source: Flora of North America, OregonFlora, UW Burke Herbarium

The species comparison tool is brought to you by:

Flora of North America species comparison

Delphinium nuttallii subsp. ochroleucum

Delphinium viridescens

Delphinium nuttallii subsp. ochroleucum

Delphinium viridescens