Flora of North America species comparison

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Delphinium distichum

spreading larkspur, spreading or zigzag larkspur, zigzag larkspur

Burke's larkspur, meadow larkspur, strict larkspur, two-spike larkspur

Stems

(10-)20-50(-90) cm;

base reddish, glabrous to puberulent.

(25-)30-60(-80) cm;

base sometimes reddish, puberulent.

Leaves

blade round to pentagonal, 1-5.5 × 2-7.5 cm, nearly glabrous; ultimate lobes 3-9, less often wedge-shaped, 5 or more extending more than 3/5 distance to petiole, width 5-30(-50) mm (basal), 1-15 mm (cauline), widest at middle or in proximal 1/2.

blade cuneate to semicircular, 1-5 × 1.5-7 cm, puberulent; ultimate lobes 5-19, width 2-8(-15) mm (basal), 0.5-3(-5) mm (cauline);

margins of basal leaf, measured less than 1 cm from blade base, demarcating considerably more than 90° of arc when leaf laid flat;

most cauline leaf blades exceeding internodes.

Inflorescences

4-25(-36)-flowered;

pedicel spreading from rachis at usually less than 70°, 1-4(-8) cm, glabrous to glandular;

bracteoles 3-12(-23) mm from flowers, blue to green, linear, 3-8(-16) mm, glabrous to glandular.

8-30(-40)-flowered, usually dense;

pedicel 0.5-1.5 cm, puberulent;

bracteoles 0-3 mm from flowers, green to blue, linear, 4-8 mm, puberulent.

Flowers

sepals dark blue, usually retaining color upon drying, glabrous, lateral sepals reflexed, (6-)10-15(-20) × 4-8 mm, spurs straight, ascending ca. 30° above horizontal, 8-18 mm;

lower petal blades elevated, exposing stamens, 3-6(-8) mm, clefts 1-3 mm;

hairs centered on base of cleft or on inner lobes, scattered, white, rarely yellow.

sepals dark blue to bluish purple, puberulent, lateral sepals ± erect, 8-12 × 3.5-5 mm, spurs straight, horizontal or nearly so, 9-15 mm;

lower petal blades ± covering stamens, 4.5-6.5 mm, clefts 2-3 mm;

hairs centered mostly near base of cleft, white.

Fruits

12-23 mm, 3.3-3.6 times longer than wide, glabrous or puberulent.

7-13 mm, 3.5-4 times longer than wide, ± puberulent.

Seeds

unwinged;

seed coats ± pitted, cell surfaces roughened.

seed coat cells with surfaces roughened.

= 16.

Delphinium patens

Delphinium distichum

Phenology

Flowering late spring–early summer.

Habitat

Wet meadows

Elevation

100-2400 m (300-7900 ft)

Distribution

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

ID; MT; OR; WA; WY; BC

[WildflowerSearch map]

Discussion

Subspecies 3 (3 in the flora).

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

Delphinium distichum hybridizes with D. multiplex and D. nuttallianum (D. ×diversicolor Rydberg). The name D. burkei has often been misapplied to D. distichum.

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

Key

1. Lobes of proximal cauline leaves usually more than 15 mm wide; basal and proximal cauline leaves rarely cleft more than 4/5 radius of blade.	subsp. hepaticoideum
1. Lobes of proximal cauline leaves usually less than 15 mm wide; basal and proximal cauline leaves usually cleft more than 4/5 radius of blade.	→ 2
2. Pedicels puberulent, usually glandular; most leaf blades with more than 7 ultimate lobes.	subsp. montanum
2. Pedicels usually glabrous; most leaf blades with fewer than 7 ultimate lobes.	subsp. patens

Source

FNA vol. 3.

Parent taxa

Ranunculaceae > Delphinium > sect. Diedropetala > subsect. Grumosa

Ranunculaceae > Delphinium > sect. Diedropetala > subsect. Depauperata

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. 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

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. 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

Subordinate taxa

D. patens subsp. hepaticoideum, D. patens subsp. montanum, D. patens subsp. patens

Synonyms

D. strictum var. distichiflorum

Name authority

Bentham: Pl. Hartw., 296. (1849)

Geyer ex Hooker: J. Bot. 6: 68. (1847)

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, OregonFlora, UW Burke Herbarium

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