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 wootonii

spreading larkspur, spreading or zigzag larkspur, zigzag larkspur

Organ Mountain larkspur, Wooton's larkspur

Stems

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

base reddish, glabrous to puberulent.

(15-)30-50(-60) cm;

base sometimes reddish, pubescent.

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 reniform to fan-shaped, 1.5-3 × 2.5-4 cm, puberulent; ultimate lobes 5-24, width 2-6 mm (basal), 1-3 mm (cauline).

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.

15-30(-49)-flowered;

pedicel 1-2(-3.6) cm, puberulent;

bracteoles 1-5 mm from flowers, green, linear, 1-4(-12) 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 white to lavender, nearly glabrous, lateral sepals usually reflexed, (6-)8-13 × 3-7 mm, spur straight, ascending 30-80° above horizontal, (8-)13-20(-25) mm;

lower petal blades ± elevated, 6-9 mm, cleft 2.5-4.5 mm;

hairs centered, densest near base of cleft, white.

Fruits

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

(10-)11-20(-24) mm, 3-3.5 times longer than wide, glabrous.

Seeds

unwinged;

seed coats ± pitted, cell surfaces roughened.

seed coat cells with surfaces pustulate.

= 16.

Delphinium patens

Delphinium wootonii

Phenology

Flowering spring.

Habitat

Oak woods, grasslands, desert scrub

Elevation

700-1800 m (2300-5900 ft)

Distribution

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

AZ; CO; NM; TX; Mexico (Sonora, Chihuahua, and Coahuila)

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

Discussion

Subspecies 3 (3 in the flora).

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

Delphinium wootonii hybridizes with D. madrense in the eastern Big Bend area of Texas, and with D. carolinianum subsp. virescens.

(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. Virescens

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. 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. xantholeucum

Subordinate taxa

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

Synonyms

D. virescens subsp. wootonii

Name authority

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

Rydberg: Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 26: 587. (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).

Choose a data source: Flora of North America

The species comparison tool is brought to you by: