Delphinium menziesii
Delphinium
Menzies' larkspur
delphinium, larkspur
(10-)35-70(-85) cm;
base often reddish, puberulent.
blade round, 1.5-5 × 3-9 cm, puberulent; ultimate lobes 5-18, width 2-15 mm (basal), 1-10 mm (cauline), widest at middle or in proximal 1/2.
blade deeply palmately divided, round to pentagonal or reniform, margins entire or lobes apically crenate or lacerate, lobes of basal blades wider and fewer than those of cauline blades.
3-15(-43)-flowered;
pedicel 1.5-4(-7) cm, (glandular) puberulent;
bracteoles 8-10(-24) mm from flowers, green to blue, linear, 4-6(-9) mm, puberulent.
terminal, 2-100(-more)-flowered racemes (occasionally branched, thus technically panicles), 5-40 cm or more;
bracts subtending inflorescence branches;
pedicels present or absent;
bracteoles (on pedicels) subopposite-subalternate, not forming involucre.
sepals bluish purple or yellowish, often partly fading upon drying, puberulent, lateral sepals spreading, (11-)13-20 × 5-11 mm, spurs straight, ascending less than 30° above horizontal, 11-17 mm;
lower petal blades ± covering stamens, 8-12 mm, clefts 0.2-2.5 mm;
hairs sparse, centered, mostly near junction of blade and claw above base of cleft, white or blue.
bisexual, bilaterally symmetric;
sepals not persistent in fruit, 5;
upper sepal 1, spurred, 8-24 mm;
lateral sepals 2, ± ovate to elliptic, 8-18 mm;
lower sepals 2, similar to lateral sepals;
upper petals 2, spurred, enclosed in upper sepal, nectary inside tip of spur;
lower petals 2, plane, ± ovate, ± 2-lobed, clawed, 2-12 mm, nectary absent;
stamens 25-40;
filaments with base expanded;
staminodes absent between stamens and pistils;
pistils 3(-5), simple;
ovules 8-20 per pistil;
style present.
11-17 mm, 3.5-4 times longer than wide, puberulent.
follicles, aggregate, sessile, ± curved-cylindric, sides prominently veined or not;
beak terminal, straight, 2-4 mm.
wing-margined;
seed coat cell surfaces smooth, without swollen blunt hair.
dark brown to black (often appearing white because of air in seed coat cells), rectangular to pyramidal, often ± rough surfaced.
= 8.
Delphinium menziesii
Delphinium
Subspecies 2 (2 in the flora).
Although Delphinium menziesii has often been confused with D. nuttallii, it may be distinguished by its consistently larger flowers and usually fewer flowers per plant. Interestingly, each species produces both blue-purple and yellowish flower colors in separate populations.
The Chehalis consider Delphinium menziesii poisonous, but they also apply it to sores. The women of the Thompson Indians use it as a love charm (D. E. Moerman 1986, subspecies not indicated).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Species ca. 300 (61 in the flora).
Three Eurasian species of Delphinium–D. elatum Linnaeus, D. grandiflorum Linnaeus, and D. tatsienense Franchet–have been commonly cultivated in North America. Of the nonnative taxa, only D. elatum is sporadically naturalized, as far as is known. Isolating mechanisms in Delphinium appear to be primarily ecological, geographic, and/or temporal. Where these distinctions are disrupted, introgression often exists. Hybridization occurs regularly between certain taxa, particularly in areas of disturbance (e.g., roadcuts, drainage ditches, clearcuts). The more common and easily recognized hybrids are included in the key.
Many names have been misapplied in Delphinium. The few misapplied names mentioned in discussions below refer to relatively widespread problems.
Unless otherwise noted, the key and descriptions refer to fresh material. Some features may be significantly altered by pressing; they can, however, usually be determined with a certain amount of effort and experience.
In the descriptions, "base of cleft" refers to the point where the cleft or sinus reaches most deeply into the petal blade.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Sepals blue to purple. | subsp. menziesii |
1. Sepals yellowish to white. | subsp. pallidum |
1. Lower petal blades less than 1/5 length of lateral sepals; sepals never red or yellow. | Sect. Elatopsis |
1. Lower petal blades more than 1/5 length of lateral sepals; sepals blue, purple, white, red, or yellow. | Sect. Diedropetala |
BC
OR
WA
Flora NW
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
CA
