Delphinium glaucum S. Watson
tall larkspur (Sierra larkspur)
Ranunculaceae (Buttercup family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
tall larkspur (Sierra larkspur)
Ranunculaceae (Buttercup family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Perennial herb from a thick, tough rootstock; stems 1 or more, hollow, erect, (60) 100-200 cm tall, mostly smooth, with a bloom, bases green.
Leaves:
All stem leaves, alternate, 15 to 20 at time of flowering, stalks 1-14 cm long, blades round to 5-sided, 2-11 cm long, 3-18 cm wide, palmately divided into 5 (7) main broadly wedge-shaped segments, the segments shallowly 2- to 3-times lobed or toothed, the ultimate segments 5 to 9 (15) and 5-24 (35) mm wide, smooth.
Flowers:
Inflorescence a 10- to 90-flowered, narrow, terminal raceme, sometimes branched, the flowers bilaterally symmetric; bracts linear, green to bluish, 2-7 mm long, smooth or minutely-hairy; flower stalks ascending, 1-3 cm long, smooth to minutely-hairy; petals 4, the upper 2 united, pale within, blue-streaked outside, spurred, enclosed in upper sepal, nectary inside spur, the lower petals 2, pale to dark blue, mostly covering stamens, clawed, 4-6 mm long, 2-lobed, cleft 1-3 mm, the hairs white, centred near base of cleft; sepals 5, usually bluish purple to lavender, minutely-hairy, the lateral two pointing forward to spreading, 8-14 mm long, 3-6 mm wide, the lower two similar to lateral, the upper one spurred, the spur straight, 10-15 mm long; stamens 20 to many; pistils 3.
Fruits:
Follicles, 9-20 mm long, 3.5- to 4.5-times longer than wide, smooth to minutely-hairy; beaks straight, about 3 mm long; seeds pale to dark brown, winged, shining.
Notes:
Toxic; known to cause livestock poisoning.
Illustration
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
USDA Species Characteristics
Flower Colour:
Purple
Blooming Period:
Early Spring
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Black
Present from Summer to Fall
Source: The USDA
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Delphinium glaucum
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
| Site Information |
Value / Class |
||
|
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
| Elevation
(metres) |
1124 | 6 | 2240 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
16 | 0 | 262 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
174 | 0 | 360 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
4 | 1 | 8 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
D | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
824 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
BWBS | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
AT(12), BAFA(20), BWBS(293), CWH(1), ESSF(139), ICH(5), IDF(8), MS(7), SBPS(1), SBS(113), SWB(143) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Moist to mesic open forests, thickets, meadows and tundra from the montane to alpine zones; common throughout BC east of the Coast-Cascade Mountains, except southernmost BC; N to AK, YT and NT, E to MB and S to UT, CO, NV and CA.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Delphinium brownii Rydb.
Delphinium scopulorum A. Gray
Delphinium scopulorum var. glaucum (S. Watson) A. Gray