Delphinium nudicaule |
Delphinium californicum |
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canyon delphinium, canyon larkspur, orange larkspur, red larkspur, red or orange larkspur, scarlet larkspur |
California larkspur, coast larkspur |
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Stems | (15-)20-50(-125) cm; base reddish, glabrous. |
(60-)100-160(-230) cm; base reddish, puberulent-glabrous. |
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Leaves | blade round to pentagonal, 2-6 × 3-10 cm; ultimate lobes 3-12, width 5-40 mm (basal), 2-20 mm (cauline). |
blade pentagonal to round, 3-9 × 3-12 cm, puberulent; ultimate lobes 3-15, width 5-60 mm; midcauline leaf lobes less than 3 times longer than wide. |
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Inflorescences | 5-20(-69)-flowered; pedicel (1.5-)2-6(-8) cm, glabrous to glandular-pubescent; bracteoles 14-20(-30) mm from flowers, green to red, linear, 2-4(-9) mm, glabrous to puberulent. |
(16-)40-90(-162)-flowered; pedicel 0.5-2.5(-6.5) cm, puberulent; bracteoles 2-5 mm from flowers, reddish, linear, (3-)7-12(-15) mm, puberulent. |
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Flowers | sepals scarlet to reddish orange, rarely dull yellow, glabrous, lateral sepals forward-pointing to form pseudotube, (6-)8-13(-16) × 3-6 mm, spurs straight, slightly ascending, (12-)18-27(-34) mm; lower petal blades elevated, exposing stamens, 2-3 mm, clefts 0.5-1 mm; hairs sparse, evenly dispersed, yellow. |
sepals lavender to greenish white, abaxially puberulent, lateral sepals forward pointing to form a pseudotube, 6-11 × 5-7 mm, spurs straight, slightly ascending, apically downcurved, 7-11(-14) mm; lower petal blades elevated, ± exposing stamens, 3-5 mm, clefts 1.5-2.5 mm; hairs covering adaxial surface, white or light yellow. |
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Fruits | 13-26 mm, 3.5-4.5 times longer than wide, glabrous. |
11-16 mm, 2.5-3.5 times longer than wide, glabrous to sparsely puberulent. |
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Seeds | unwinged or sometimes slightly wing-margined; seed coat cells with surfaces smooth. |
unwinged; seed coat cells elongate, surfaces ± roughened. |
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2n | = 16. |
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Delphinium nudicaule |
Delphinium californicum |
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Phenology | Flowering late winter–early summer. | |||||
Habitat | Moist talus, cliff faces | |||||
Elevation | 0-2600 m (0-8500 ft) | |||||
Distribution |
CA; OR
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CA
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Discussion | Delphinium nudicaule hybridizes with most other taxa of Delphinium that it encounters. Apparent hybrids involving D. nudicaule, and seen by the author (either afield or as specimens), include D. andersonii, D. antoninum, D. decorum, D. luteum, D. nuttallianum, D. patens, and D. trolliifolium. In addition, garden-grown plants have been hybridized with D. cardinale, D. elatum, D. menziesii, D. parishii, D. penardii, D. tatsienense Franchet, D. triste Fischer ex de Candolle, and D. uliginosum; D. nudicaule does not naturally occur with these species. Delphinium nudicaule is one of the earliest larkspurs to flower in any given locality. Douglas's type collection of D. nudicaule represents plants (synonyms D. sarcophyllum Hooker & Arnott and D. peltatum Hooker, an invalid name) grown under very moist conditions, probably quite near the ocean. The type specimen of D. armeniacum A. Heller represents plants grown under unusually dry conditions. The Mendocino Indians consider Delphinium nudicaule a narcotic (D. E. Moerman 1986). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Subspecies 2 (2 in the flora). Delphinium californicum can be confused only with D. glaucum or D. exaltatum. The three species may be separated by the abundant pubescence and early flowering date of D. californicum as compared to the other two taxa, low elevation sites of D. californicum compared to D. glaucum, and western geographic distribution of D. californicum compared to D. exaltatum. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 3. | FNA vol. 3. | ||||
Parent taxa | Ranunculaceae > Delphinium > sect. Diedropetala > subsect. Bicoloria | Ranunculaceae > Delphinium > sect. Diedropetala > subsect. Exaltata | ||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||
Synonyms | D. armeniacum | |||||
Name authority | Torrey & A. Gray: Fl. N. Amer. 1: 33. (1838) | Torrey & A. Gray: Fl. N. Amer. 1: 31. (1838) | ||||
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