Flora of North America species comparison

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Delphinium purpusii

Delphinium sect. Diedropetala

Kern County larkspur, Purpus' larkspur, rose-color larkspur, rose-flower larkspur
Roots

2-80 cm, tuberlike or fibrous, dry or fleshy;

buds often less than 3 mm.
Stems

(30-)50-80(-120) cm;

base reddish or not, nearly glabrous.

1-8(-19) per root;

base firmly attached to root or not.
Leaves

blade round, 1.5-6 × 2-10 cm, ± puberulent; ultimate lobes 0-5, width 5-30(-50) mm (basal), 5-20(-40) mm (cauline).

cauline and/or in basal rosette, gradually or abruptly reduced into bracts.
Inflorescences

(8-)12-20(-32)-flowered, ± cylindric;

pedicel ± ascending, (0.5-)1-4(-5) cm, glandular-puberulent;

bracteoles 1-6 mm from flowers, green to magenta, linear, 2-4 mm, glandular-puberulent.

Flowers

sepals magenta to rose, nearly glabrous, lateral sepals reflexed, 10-16 × 3-7 mm, spurs straight, 30-45° above horizontal, (10-)14-19 mm;

lower petal blades nearly coplanar with claws, exposing stamens, 3-4 mm, clefts 0.5-1.5 mm;

hairs sparse, scattered, white.

sepals blue, purple, white, red, or yellow;

lower petal blades often same color as lateral sepals, usually greater than 1/5 length of lateral sepals (exceptions in red- and yellow-flowered species).
Fruits

(11-)18-29 mm, 4-4.5 times longer than wide, glabrous.

Seeds

seed coats with small wavy ridges, cells brick-shaped, cell margins undulate, surfaces smooth.

2n

= 16.

Delphinium purpusii

Delphinium sect. Diedropetala
Phenology Flowering spring.
Habitat Talus, cliffs, on and near large boulders
Elevation 300-1300 m (1000-4300 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Of conservation concern.

Delphinium purpusii is not likely to be confused with any other Delphinium in North America. Hybrids with Delphinium hansenii subsp. kernense are known to occur.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 3. FNA vol. 3, p. 197.
Parent taxa Ranunculaceae > Delphinium > sect. Diedropetala > subsect. Subscaposa Ranunculaceae > Delphinium
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. parishii, D. parryi, D. patens, D. polycladon, 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
Name authority Brandegee: Bot. Gaz. 27: 444. (1899) Huth: Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 20: 420. (1895)
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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