Flora of North America species comparison

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Delphinium viridescens

Delphinium elatum
Delphinium viridescens

Wenatchee larkspur

candle larkspur, candle larkspur (vascan: harms 2006), larkspur
Stems

90-150 cm;

base usually green, glabrous.

40-200 cm;

base green, pubescent or glabrous.
Leaves

blade cuneate to semicircular, 2-5 × 3-12 cm, nearly glabrous; ultimate lobes 3-21, width 1-8 mm.

blade round to pentagonal, 3-15 × 6-22 cm, ± puberulent; ultimate lobes 3-9, width 8-30 mm.
Inflorescences

25-80-flowered, dense;

pedicel 0.5-2 cm, glandular-pubescent;

bracteoles 1-4 mm from flowers, green, lanceolate, 3.5-6 mm, glandular-pubescent.

25-100(-more)-flowered;

pedicel 1-3(-5) cm, glabrous to pubescent;

bracteoles 2-5(-9) mm from flowers, green, linear, 5-9 mm, ± puberulent.
Flowers

sepals yellowish green, nearly glabrous, lateral sepals forward pointing, 7-9 × 3-4 mm, spurs decurved, 30-45° below horizontal, often hooked apically, 8-11 mm;

lower petal blades ± covering stamens, 4-6 mm, clefts 0.5-1.5 mm;

hairs centered, mostly near junction of blade and claw, yellow.

sepals blue, white, or purple, ± puberulent, lateral sepals spreading, 12-23 × 4-12 mm, spurs straight, ascending ca. 45° above horizontal, 15-22 mm;

lower petal blades elevated, exposing stamens, 3-5 mm, clefts 0.2-1 mm;

hairs sparse or dense, mostly near center of blade, yellow or white.
Fruits

8-11 mm, 2.5-3 times longer than wide, puberulent.

13-20 mm, 3.5-4.5 times longer than wide, ± puberulent.
Seeds

± wing-margined;

seed coat cells with surfaces ± roughened.

winged;

seed coats ± with small wavy ridges, cells elongate, surface roughened.

Delphinium viridescens

Delphinium elatum
Phenology Flowering summer. Flowering summer, more than 8 weeks after snowmelt.
Habitat Wet meadows and streamsides in coniferous forest, heavy clay soils Old homesites
Elevation 500-1000 m (1600-3300 ft) 50-3000 m (200-9800 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
WA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
BC; MB; SK; and probably elsewhere; native to Europe and w Asia [Introduced in North America]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Of conservation concern.

Delphinium viridescens is local in mountains southwest of Wenatchee, Washington.

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

Delphinium elatum is cultivated as a garden plant or for cut flowers. It is not known to be naturalized extensively in North America; it may persist long after cultivation in cooler parts of the region.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 3. FNA vol. 3.
Parent taxa Ranunculaceae > Delphinium > sect. Diedropetala > subsect. Multiplex Ranunculaceae > Delphinium > sect. Elatopsis > subsect. Elata
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. variegatum, 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. 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
Name authority Leiberg: Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. 11: 39. (1897) Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 531. (1753)
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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