Flora of North America species comparison

The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.

enable glossary links

Delphinium parryi

Wenatchee larkspur

Parry's larkspur, San Bernardino larkspur

Stems

90-150 cm;

base usually green, glabrous.

(10-)40-80(-110) cm;

base reddish, puberulent.

Leaves

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

blade pentagonal, 1-7 × 2-10 cm, ± puberulent; ultimate lobes 3-27, width 1-20 mm (basal), 0.5-5 mm (cauline).

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.

(2-)8-24(-48)-flowered, cylindric;

pedicel ± spreading, (0.5-)1-3(-6.8) cm, usually puberulent;

bracteoles 2-7(-16) mm from flowers, green to blue, lance-linear, 2-6(-10) 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 dark blue to bluish purple, puberulent, lateral sepals spreading or reflexed, (7-)10-20(-25) × 4-9 mm, spurs straight, ascending 0-30° above horizontal, 9-17(-21) mm;

lower petal blades slightly elevated, ± exposing stamens, 3-10 mm, clefts 2-6 mm;

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

Fruits

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

10-19 mm, 2.8-4 times longer than wide, puberulent or glabrous.

Seeds

± wing-margined;

seed coat cells with surfaces ± roughened.

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

Delphinium parryi

Phenology

Flowering summer.

Habitat

Wet meadows and streamsides in coniferous forest, heavy clay soils

Elevation

500-1000 m (1600-3300 ft)

Distribution

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

North America (Calif)

[WildflowerSearch map]

[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.)

Subspecies 5 (5 in the flora).

A number of local phases are found in Delphinium parryi. Five of these appear consistently distinct and are recognized here. Other phases may be locally distinct but grade into other nearby phases. Delphinium parryi hybridizes with D. cardinale (D. ×inflexum Davidson).

The Kawaiisu used the ground root of Delphinium parryi medicinally as a salve for swollen limbs (D. E. Moerman 1986, no subspecies specified).

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

Key

1. Basal leaves usually absent at anthesis.	→ 2
1. Basal leaves usually present at anthesis.	→ 3
2. Lateral sepals 16–25 mm.	subsp. blochmaniae
2. Lateral sepals 9–15 mm.	subsp. parryi
3. Lateral sepals 7–11 mm; above 700 m elevation.	subsp. purpureum
3. Lateral sepals (9–)12–20 mm; below 700 m elevation.	→ 4
4. Sepals usually reflexed.	subsp. eastwoodiae
4. Sepals usually spreading.	subsp. maritimum

Source

FNA vol. 3.

Parent taxa

Ranunculaceae > Delphinium > sect. Diedropetala > subsect. Multiplex

Ranunculaceae > Delphinium > sect. Diedropetala > subsect. Subscaposa

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. 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. 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. parryi subsp. blochmaniae, D. parryi subsp. eastwoodiae, D. parryi subsp. maritimum, D. parryi subsp. parryi, D. parryi subsp. purpureum

Name authority

Leiberg: Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. 11: 39. (1897)

A. Gray: Bot. Gaz. 12: 53. (1887)

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).

Choose a data source: Flora of North America, UW Burke Herbarium

The species comparison tool is brought to you by: