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bare-stem larkspur, desert larkspur, tall mountain larkspur

Chiricahua Mountain larkspur

Stems

25-50(-65) cm;

base usually reddish, glabrous, glaucous.

60-200 +cm;

base reddish or not, glabrous, glaucous.

Leaves

blade ± round, 0.5-4 × 0.5-6 cm, puberulent to glabrous; ultimate lobes 3-9, width 2-15 mm (basal), 0.5-3 mm (cauline).

blade cordate to semicircular, 5-8 × 5-12 cm, nearly glabrous; ultimate lobes 5-16, width 3-20 mm, tips gradually tapered to mucronate apex;

midcauline leaf lobes more than 3 times longer than wide.

Inflorescences

10-25(-40)-flowered, cylindric;

pedicel ascending, 0.6-2.5 cm, glabrous;

bracteoles 2-5 mm from flowers, green to blue, linear-lanceolate, 2-4 mm, glabrous.

20-80-flowered;

pedicel 1-2(-3) cm, puberulent;

bracteoles 1-3 mm from flowers, green to brown, linear-lanceolate, 3-6 mm, puberulent.

Flowers

sepals bright dark blue, glabrous, lateral sepals spreading, 11-14 × 4-6 mm, spurs straight, sometimes decurved, ascending 30-45° above horizontal, 13-18 mm;

lower petal blades elevated, exposing stamens, 5-8 mm, cleft 2-4 mm;

hairs mostly centered on inner lobes near junction of blade and claw, white.

sepals purple, puberulent, lateral sepals spreading, 9-12 × 5-7 mm, spurs ascending ca. 45°, curved downward apically, purple, 10-13 mm, blunt tipped;

lower petal blades ± covering stamens, 4-6 mm, clefts 1.5-2.5 mm;

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

Fruits

12-16 mm, 2.5-3 times longer than wide, glabrous.

12-15 mm, 3.5-4 times longer than wide, sparsely puberulent.

Seeds

seed coat cells ± brick-shaped, cell margins straight, surfaces smooth.

unwinged;

seed coat cells elongate, surfaces pustulate.

2n

= 16.

= 16.

Delphinium scaposum

Delphinium andesicola

Phenology Flowering spring. Flowering summer–early fall.
Habitat Juniper woods, grassland Meadows and coniferous woods
Elevation 1200-2700 m (3900-8900 ft) 2200-3200 m (7200-10500 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CO; NM; UT
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Delphinium scaposum is reportedly used in Navajo and Hopi religous ceremonies, as well as for a wash following childbirth (D. E. Moerman 1986).

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

Delphinium andesicola, the westernmost representative of the southern Cordilleran complex, is found in the Chiricahua, Huachuca, Graham, and White mountains. Hybrids with Delphinium scopulorum are known.

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

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. parishii, D. parryi, D. patens, D. polycladon, D. purpusii, D. ramosum, D. recurvatum, D. robustum, D. sapellonis, 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. 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. 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
Synonyms D. andersonii var. scaposum D. andesicola subsp. amplum
Name authority Greene: Bot. Gaz. 6: 156. 1881, not D. scaposum W. T. Wang (1957) Ewan: J. Washington Acad. Sci. 29: 476. (1939)
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