Delphinium luteum |
Delphinium elatum |
|
---|---|---|
golden larkspur, yellow larkspur |
candle larkspur, candle larkspur (vascan: harms 2006), larkspur |
|
Stems | 20-40(-55) cm; base often reddish, nearly glabrous. |
40-200 cm; base green, pubescent or glabrous. |
Leaves | blade round to pentagonal, 1-5 × 2-10 cm, nearly glabrous; ultimate lobes 3-5, width 8-30 mm (basal), 5-15 mm (cauline). |
blade round to pentagonal, 3-15 × 6-22 cm, ± puberulent; ultimate lobes 3-9, width 8-30 mm. |
Inflorescences | 5-25(-37)-flowered; pedicel (1-)3-5(-7) cm, puberulent; bracteoles 6-10(-17) mm from flowers, green, linear-lanceolate, 6-7 mm, nearly glabrous. |
25-100(-more)-flowered; pedicel 1-3(-5) cm, glabrous to pubescent; bracteoles 2-5(-9) mm from flowers, green, linear, 5-9 mm, ± puberulent. |
Flowers | sepals bright yellow, puberulent, appearing waxy, lateral sepals ± forward pointing, (11-)14-16 × (6-)9-13 mm, spur straight, ca. 30° below horizontal, 11-20 mm; lower petal blades elevated, exposing stamens, 3-4 mm, clefts 0.5-1.5 mm; hairs sparse or absent, ± evenly distributed if present, white to yellow. |
sepals blue, white, or purple, ± puberulent, lateral sepals spreading, 12-23 × 4-12 mm, spurs straight, ascending ca. 45° above horizontal, 15-22 mm; lower petal blades elevated, exposing stamens, 3-5 mm, clefts 0.2-1 mm; hairs sparse or dense, mostly near center of blade, yellow or white. |
Fruits | 11-14 mm, 3.5-4.5 times longer than wide, glabrous. |
13-20 mm, 3.5-4.5 times longer than wide, ± puberulent. |
Seeds | unwinged; seed coat cell surfaces smooth. |
winged; seed coats ± with small wavy ridges, cells elongate, surface roughened. |
Delphinium luteum |
Delphinium elatum |
|
Phenology | Flowering late winter-mid spring. | Flowering summer, more than 8 weeks after snowmelt. |
Habitat | Wet cliffs, coastal grassland or chaparral | Old homesites |
Elevation | 0-50 m (0-200 ft) | 50-3000 m (200-9800 ft) |
Distribution |
CA
|
BC; MB; SK; and probably elsewhere; native to Europe and w Asia [Introduced in North America] |
Discussion | Of conservation concern. Delphinium luteum is presently known from only three populations. It is known to hybridize with D. decorum and with D. nudicaule. Populations of D. hesperium subsp. hesperium also occur at the type locality; D. luteum flowers earlier and hybrids are not known. Delphinium luteum is not likely to be mistaken for any other species of Delphinium. It has been treated as a variety of D. nudicaule and is closely related to that species. Sepals of the infrequent yellow-flowered phase of D. nudicaule, however, have a much drabber appearance compared with the bright shining yellow of the sepals in D. luteum. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Delphinium elatum is cultivated as a garden plant or for cut flowers. It is not known to be naturalized extensively in North America; it may persist long after cultivation in cooler parts of the region. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 3. | FNA vol. 3. |
Parent taxa | Ranunculaceae > Delphinium > sect. Diedropetala > subsect. Bicoloria | Ranunculaceae > Delphinium > sect. Elatopsis > subsect. Elata |
Sibling taxa | ||
Name authority | A. Heller: Bull. S. Calif. Acad. Sci. 6: 68. (1903) | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 531. (1753) |
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