Flora of North America species comparison

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Delphinium variegatum

Delphinium treleasei

royal larkspur

glade larkspur, Trelease's larkspur
Stems

(10-)20-50(-80) cm;

base reddish or not, not longitudinally ridged, long-pubescent.

(40-)60-80(-110) cm;

base reddish, glabrous, glaucous.
Leaves

blade round to pentagonal, 1-4.5 × 2-6 cm, pubescent; ultimate lobes 3-15, width 3-8 mm (basal), 2-5 mm (cauline).

blade round to reniform, 0.5-8 × 2-20 cm, glabrous; ultimate lobes 3-35(-56), 5 or more extending more than 3/5 distance to petiole, width 2-6 mm (basal), 0.5-2 mm (cauline), widest at middle or in proximal 1/2.
Inflorescences

(4-)6-17(-20)-flowered, open;

pedicel 0.5-3(-7) cm, usually puberulent;

bracteoles 2-7(-23) mm from flowers, green, linear-lanceolate, 3-8 mm, puberulent.

5-30(-56)-flowered;

pedicel (1-)2.5-7(-11) cm, glabrous;

bracteoles 1-7(-46) mm from flowers, blue or green, awl-shaped, 1.5-4(-12) mm, glabrous.
Flowers

sepals usually deep royal blue, sometimes bright blue to light blue or white, ± finely pubescent, lateral sepals spreading, 10-18(-25) × 6-10 mm, spurs straight, ascending ca. 30° above horizontal, 10-19 mm;

lower petal blades slightly elevated, ± exposing stamens, 4-11 mm, clefts 0.5-3.5 mm;

hairs sparse, more on inner lobes than outer lobe or centered, scattered on margins, white or yellow.

sepals dark bright blue, usually retaining color upon drying, nearly glabrous, lateral sepals spreading, (10-)12-17(-20) × 4-8(-10) mm, spurs straight, ascending ca. 45°, 15-17 mm;

lower petal blades ± covering stamens, 5-8 mm, clefts (1-)3-5 mm;

hairs centered, densest above base of cleft, yellow.
Fruits

9-19 mm, 2.2-3.8 times longer than wide, ± puberulent.

12-18(-22) mm, 3-4 times longer than wide, glabrous.
Seeds

not echinate, appearing ± smooth to naked eye;

seed coat cells with margins ± undulate, surfaces roughened.

unwinged;

seed coat cell surfaces smooth.
2n

= 16.

Delphinium variegatum

Delphinium treleasei
Phenology Flowering late spring.
Habitat Open juniper glades on calcareous substrate
Elevation 250-450 m (800-1500 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AR; MO
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Subspecies 3 (3 in the flora).

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

Delphinium treleasei is locally abundant but extremely limited by microhabitat within its distributional range.

Hybrids between Delphinium treleasei and D. carolinianum subsp. carolinianum are known.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Long hairs dense on base of stem; sepals usually deep royal blue; mainland.
subsp. variegatum
1. Long hairs sparse on proximal portion of stems; sepals white to bright blue; islands.
→ 2
2. Sepals bright blue to light blue.
subsp. thornei
2. Sepals white to light blue.
subsp. kinkiense
Source FNA vol. 3. FNA vol. 3.
Parent taxa Ranunculaceae > Delphinium > sect. Diedropetala > subsect. Echinata Ranunculaceae > Delphinium > sect. Diedropetala > subsect. Grumosa
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. scaposum, D. scopulorum, D. stachydeum, D. sutherlandii, D. treleasei, D. tricorne, D. trolliifolium, D. uliginosum, D. umbraculorum, D. viridescens, D. wootonii, D. xantholeucum
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. scaposum, D. scopulorum, D. stachydeum, D. sutherlandii, D. tricorne, D. trolliifolium, D. uliginosum, D. umbraculorum, D. variegatum, D. viridescens, D. wootonii, D. xantholeucum
Subordinate taxa
D. variegatum subsp. kinkiense, D. variegatum subsp. thornei, D. variegatum subsp. variegatum
Name authority Torrey & A. Gray: Fl. N. Amer. 1: 32. 183: not D. variegatum Baillon 1883 Bush ex K. C. Davis: Minnesota Bot. Stud. 2: 444. (1900)
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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