Flora of North America species comparison

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Delphinium parishii

Delphinium barbeyi

desert larkspur, Parish's larkspur

Barbey larkspur, Barbey's larkspur, subalpine larkspur, tall larkspur
Stems

(17-)30-60(-100) cm;

base reddish or not, glabrous to puberulent.

50-150 cm;

base green, glabrous.
Leaves

blade pentagonal, 0.7-5 × 1-8 cm, glabrous to puberulent; ultimate lobes 3-18, width 2-18 mm (basal), 0.5-8 mm (cauline).

blade round to reniform, 4-8 × 7-15 cm, glabrous; ultimate lobes 5-9, width 8-50 mm.
Inflorescences

(6-)10-40(-74)-flowered, cylindric;

pedicel ascending-spreading, (0.3-)1-2.5(-4.8) cm, glabrous to puberulent;

bracteoles 2-5(-10) mm from flowers, green, lance-linear, 2-6(-16) mm, glabrous to puberulent.

10-50-flowered;

pedicel 0.5-6 cm, glandular-puberulent;

bracteoles 1-4(-8) mm from flowers, blue to green, awl-shaped, 5-14 mm, puberulent.
Flowers

sepals dark blue to white to pink, often puberulent, lateral sepals reflexed or spreading, (7-)9-13 × 2-7 mm, spurs ± decurved, ascending 20-45° above horizontal, 7-15 mm;

lower petal blades ± elevated, exposing stamens, blue or white to pink (concolorous with sepals), 3-6 mm, clefts 1-3 mm;

hairs mostly near base of cleft, centered or on inner lobes, white.

sepals dark bluish purple, sparsely puberulent, lateral sepals forward pointing, 13-23 × 5-8 mm, spurs ascending ca. 45°, downcurved apically, 10-18 mm;

lower petal blades ± covering stamens, 4-7 mm, clefts 2-3 mm;

hairs centered, mostly near base of cleft, sparse elsewhere, white or yellow.
Fruits

9-21 mm, 2-4 times longer than wide, glabrous to puberulent.

17-22 mm, 2.5-3 times longer than wide, puberulent.
Seeds

seed coat cells ± brick-shaped, cell margins undulate, surfaces roughened.

wing-margined;

seed coat cells narrow but short, surfaces pustulate.
2n

= 16.

Delphinium parishii

Delphinium barbeyi
Phenology Flowering summer.
Habitat Subalpine and alpine sites in wet soils
Elevation 2500-4100 m (8200-13500 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; NV; UT; nw Mexico
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; CO; NM; UT; WY
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Subspecies 3 (3 in the flora).

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

Delphinium barbeyi hybridizes extensively with D. glaucum in western Colorado and eastern Utah, where plants appearing to be hybrid [D. ×occidentale (S. Watson) S. Watson] are often far more common than plants of either putative parent. Several other names have been used for these plants, including D. elatum var. occidentale S. Watson, D. abietorum Tidestrom, and D. scopulorum subsp. occidentale (S. Watson) Abrams. Delphinium barbeyi is also known to hybridize with D. ramosum and D. sapellonis.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Lateral sepals reflexed; sepals bright, ± sky blue.
subsp. parishii
1. Lateral sepals not reflexed; sepals dark blue or white to pink.
→ 2
2. Sepals dark blue; flowers rarely present after 20 May.
subsp. subglobosum
2. Sepals white, pinkish, or purplish; flowers rarely present before 20 May.
subsp. pallidum
Source FNA vol. 3. FNA vol. 3.
Parent taxa Ranunculaceae > Delphinium > sect. Diedropetala > subsect. Subscaposa Ranunculaceae > Delphinium > sect. Diedropetala > subsect. Exaltata
Sibling taxa
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. 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. viridescens, D. wootonii, D. xantholeucum
D. alabamicum, D. alpestre, D. andersonii, D. andesicola, D. antoninum, D. bakeri, 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. viridescens, D. wootonii, D. xantholeucum
Subordinate taxa
D. parishii subsp. pallidum, D. parishii subsp. parishii, D. parishii subsp. subglobosum
Synonyms D. exaltatum var. (e) barbeyi, D. occidentale var. barbeyi
Name authority A. Gray: Bot. Gaz. 12: 53. (1887) (Huth) Huth: Bull. Herb. Boissier 1: 335. (1893)
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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