Delphinium geyeri | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Order: | Ranunculales |
Family: | Ranunculaceae |
Genus: | Delphinium |
Species: | D. geyeri |
Binomial name | |
Delphinium geyeri | |
Synonyms [1] | |
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Delphinium geyeri is a species of plant in the Ranunculaceae family that is often called by the common names plains larkspur and foothills larkspur. It is infamous for causing the deaths of cattle grazing in the spring because it is especially poisonous before it flowers and so it is also called poisonweed by ranchers. It is a medium to tall plant that has very striking blue flowers and is occasionally grown in native plant gardens for this reason. It grows mainly in Wyoming with large population in northern Colorado, northeastern Utah, and parts of Nebraska.
Delphinium geyeri is a medium sized herbaceous plant, most often growing 30 to 60 centimeters (12 to 24 in) tall in the flowering stage, though occasionally it will reach 80 centimeters (31 in) in height or be stunted to just 15 centimeters (5.9 in). [2] The base of the flowering stem is usually reddish in color and covered in fine hairs (puberulent). Unlike with the stems of Aconitum (monkshood), the stems are not hollow. [3] The placement of leaves is variable; plants sometimes have basal leaves when entering into flowering and other times do not. Likewise, they may have 4–22 leaves on the flowering stem. [2] Plants will develop several thick, tuberous and fibrous roots that grow downward from the crown of the plant. [4] [5]
The leaves of Delphinium geyeri are roughly round in outline, but deeply divided into 7–20 pointed lobes that are 1–6 centimeters (0.39–2.4 in) wide. The end lobes of the leaves are 2–5 mm wide on basal leaves and 2–4 mm wide on flower stem leaves. As with the stem, the leaves are covered in fine hairs and are light green in color. [2] The similarly split leaves of Geraniums such as Geranium caespitosum are sometimes mistaken for those of D. geyeri, but they have much shallower leaf divisions and greater leaf area. [3] The leaves develop earlier than many other plants in its habitat. [6] The narrower and greater number of leaf divisions help to distinguish D. geyeri from other western tall larkspurs. [5]
Each inflorescence can have as many as 60 flowers or as few as 6, but usually not more than 30. The flowers have bright blue sepals that are covered in very fine hairs. The sepals at the side spread 10–18 mm and are 4–8 mm in width. The spurs on the rear of the flowers are 11–16 mm long. [2] There are dense hairs on the folded structure at center of the flower, which is white to light yellow in color. The exposed stamens are 4–8 mm in length. [2] The blooming period is from May to July. [7] The four true petals are smaller and less conspicuous than the much larger sepals. [5]
The fruits are capsules 11–15 mm long and 3–3.5 times as long as they are wide. As with other parts of the plant they are covered in sparse, fine hairs. The small seeds are uncoated. [2]
Though growing in areas that were visited by botanists and scientific expeditions from the early 1800s, Delphinium geyeri was not described as a separate species until 1894. The first scientific description was published in the second volume of the journal Erythea and is credited to the botanist Edward Lee Greene. [1] Greene reported that it was first collected by Thomas Nuttall, but tentatively identified as "D. bicolor?" on the specimen's label despite the great differences between it and Delphinium bicolor . It was also collected by Karl Andreas Geyer between the Kansas and Platte Rivers. He labeled it and many other species as D. azureum. [8] In 1912 the botanist Per Axel Rydberg described a specimen collected in Wyoming as a separate species named Delphinium viscidum in the Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club. [9] [10] This and the 1945 description by Joseph Ewan as a subspecies of Delphinium geyeri were not widely accepted and are universally considered taxonomic synonyms. [11]
It is very similar to and probably a relative of the Pacific Northwestern species Delphinium stachydeum , but has smaller flowers and generally blooms earlier. [2]
Delphinium geyeri has many common names related to its habitat, poisonous character, or its scientific name. It is called "foothills larkspur" in Colorado. [12] However, it also grows on the plains and so it is also sometimes called "plains larkspur", [13] though this name common name is shared with the white-flowered Delphinium carolinianum subsp. virescens. [14] For its highly toxic nature it is also given the common name "poisonweed". [2] Its other common name, "Geyer's larkspur", [2] relates to the scientific name Delphinium geyeri given by Greene to honor the botanist Karl Andreas Geyer. [8] However, the writer Roger Williams relates that there is speculation in the botanical community about a possible satirical intent of Greene naming a poisonous plant for a botanist who was regarded by many peers as having a toxic personality. Though he does note there are other poisonous plants named by Greene for botanists that do not seem to have any intended commentary on their professional or personal qualities. [15]
Delphinium geyeri has a limited distribution, only consistently reported to grow in four western US states: Colorado, Nebraska, Utah, and Wyoming. [1] In Colorado it is known from four Front Range and plains counties, Jefferson, Boulder, Larimer, and Weld, as well as three western counties, Jackson, Grand, and Moffat. [16] In Wyoming it is widely distributed across most of the state. In Utah it grows in four north eastern counties, Summit, Daggett, Duchesne, and Uintah. While in Nebraska there are no county level distributions recorded. [17] It may also grow in the state of Montana, but its status is uncertain. [18] [19] D. geyeri grows between 1,400 metres (4,600 ft) and 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) in elevation. [2]
Within its range it is a common plant of the rocky hillsides, sandy places, shortgrass prairie, mountain brush, and sagebrush covered slopes. [16] [6] In 1988 NatureServe evaluated Delphinium geyeri as globally secure (G5). At the state level, it was not evaluated in Colorado, evaluated as critically imperiled (S1) in Nebraska, imperiled (S2) in Utah, and apparently secure (G4) in Wyoming. [20]
The butterflies Papilio zelicaon (Anise Swallowtail) and Erynnis telemachus (Rocky Mountain Duskywing) visit the flowers of Delphinium geyeri. [21] It is seldom fed upon by herbivorous insects like the common grasshopper Melanoplus sanguinipes due to the alkaloid content of its foliage. [22]
The wildflower author Claude A. Barr considered plains larkspur to be "arresting in the intensity and depth of its textured blueness." In gardens it has good drought resistance, but requires good moisture and soil to maximize its bloom. [4] It is on the City of Fort Collins' recommended plant list for its very low water usage and for its value as a nectar source for insects. However, the plants have limited availability in the horticultural trade. [23] Seed germination when planted outside in the fall is 57%, but drops to only 5% if not cold stratified. [24] Plants can be successfully transplanted, though like many plants this is more successful if done while plants are small and in dormancy with plenty of soil around the roots. [25] Plains larkspur is known to be winter hardy in USDA zone 4, a minimum temperature of about −34 °C (−29 °F). [26] Plains larkspur seeds were offered for sale as early as 1916 and regularly through the 1930s by Rockmont Nursery. [27] [28]
Delphinium geyeri is a poisonous plant, though the toxicity of the plant is variable from year to year. It also varies in toxicity during the year with the plant's being most toxic before it flowers. [6] This has been known since at least 1916. [29] The primary toxic agents are browniine, 14-acetylbrowniine, geyerine, and 14-dehydrobrowniine. They also have moderate amounts of delcosine and delphatine as well as minor amounts of dictyocarpine, geyeridine, geyerinine, and glaucenine. [22] [12] [6] With levels of alkaloids in D. geyeri often above 15 milligrams per tenth gram of plant material while concentrations above 3 milligrams being considered dangerous. [30] These alkaloids act on neuromuscular junction causing muscle weakness and paralysis. While highly toxic to both humans and cattle, sheep are resistant to the poisonous principle and ranchers will sometime graze sheep in areas with Delphinium geyeri as a biological control. [12] Horses are also less effected by the poisons in this plant. [5] Average losses to ranchers with cattle grazing in areas where it grows are 5% annually, with a low of 2% and high of 15%. Delphinium geyeri is particularly problematic for cattle because it sprouts early in the spring before many other plants start growing new leaves. Signs of Delphinium poisoning in cattle include muscle weakness, trembling, rapid heart rate, failure of voluntary muscular coordination, inability to breathe, and death. [6]
Most of the research on Delphinium geyeri is on cattle poisoning. [6] Just two years after its 1894 scientific description Aven Nelson wrote that it is, "frequently greedily eaten by hungry cattle with fatal results, caused by bloating." [29] It continues to the 21st century with articles such as "Plains Larkspur (Delphinium geyeri) Grazing by Cattle in Wyoming" [31] and "Toxic Alkaloid Concentrations in Delphinium Nuttallianum, Delphinium Andersonii, and Delphinium Geyeri in the Intermountain Region" [30] representative of research articles.
The town of Larkspur, Colorado, is named for this flower. [32]
Jacobaea vulgaris, syn. Senecio jacobaea, is a very common wild flower in the family Asteraceae that is native to northern Eurasia, usually in dry, open places, and has also been widely distributed as a weed elsewhere.
Delphinium is a genus of about 300 species of annual and perennial flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae, native throughout the Northern Hemisphere and also on the high mountains of tropical Africa. The genus was erected by Carl Linnaeus.
Conium is a genus of flowering plants in the family Apiaceae. As of December 2020, Plants of the World Online accepts six species.
Toxicoscordion venenosum, with the common names death camas and meadow death camas, is a species of flowering plant in the family Melanthiaceae. It is named for its well known toxic qualities, with both its common names and its scientific name referencing this. Because its nectar is also poisonous, it is mainly pollinated by the death camas miner bee, which specializes in collecting the toxic pollen for its young. It is native to western North America from New Mexico to Saskatchewan and west to the Pacific Ocean.
Delphinium nudicaule, known by the common names canyon larkspur, red larkspur, orange larkspur, and canyon delphinium, is a flowering herbaceous perennial plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. It is native to low-elevation canyons and slopes, foothills, and mountain ranges of California, US, from the Sierra Nevada to the California Coast Ranges, and of Oregon. It grows below 6,500 feet (2,000 m).
Delphinium cardinale is a species of larkspur known by the common names scarlet larkspur and cardinal larkspur. This wildflower is native to California and Baja California, where it grows on coastal, inland, and desert chaparral slopes, such as the Colorado Desert, and the Peninsular and Transverse Ranges. The presence of diterpenoid alkaloids, probably including the highly toxic methyllycaconitine, in above-ground parts of D. cardinale means that they are likely to be toxic if ingested.
Delphinium glaucum, known by the common names Sierra larkspur, mountain larkspur, and glaucous larkspur, is a species of wildflower in the genus Delphinium, which belongs to the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae. It is native to western North America from Arizona to Alaska, growing in moist mountainous environments such as riverbanks and meadows.
Senecio flaccidus, formerly recorded as Senecio douglasii, member of the daisy family and genus Senecio also known as threadleaf ragwort, is a native of the southwestern Great Plains of North America.
Delphinium bicolour is a species of larkspur known as little larkspur and low larkspur. It is native to northwestern North America from British Columbia to South Dakota, where it grows in mountain forests and foothill scrub and prairie. This is a perennial herb growing from a thickly branching root system. It produces solitary stems to 40 centimetres (16 in) in height and green with reddish bases. Most of the leaves are low on the stem and grow on short petioles. They are several centimeters long with many rounded lobes. The small inflorescence holds a few large flowers per stem. The flower has dark purple-blue sepals each about 2 centimeters long and a spur of 1 to 2 centimeters. The plant is poisonous to cattle, less so to sheep, and it is occasionally eaten by various species of wild cervids.
Conium maculatum, known as hemlock, or poison hemlock is a highly poisonous flowering plant in the carrot family Apiaceae, native to Europe and North Africa. It is herbaceous without woody parts and has a biennial lifecycle. A hardy plant capable of living in a variety of environments, hemlock is widely naturalised in locations outside its native range, such as parts of Australia, West Asia, and North and South America, to which it has been introduced. It is capable of spreading and thereby becoming an invasive weed.
Delphinium scopulorum, commonly known as Rocky Mountain larkspur, is a species of wildflower in the genus Delphinium, which belongs to the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae. It is native to the Southwestern United States and found predominantly in upper-elevation moist meadows.
Oxytropis sericea is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common names white locoweed, white point-vetch, whitepoint crazyweed, and silky crazyweed. It is native to western North America from Yukon and British Columbia south through the Pacific Northwest, the Rocky Mountains, and the Great Plains.
Delphinium tricorne, known by the common names dwarf larkspur or spring larkspur, is a species of flowering plant in the Ranunculaceae (buttercup) family. It is native to the central and eastern United States, where it is the most common Delphinium found.
Delphinium barbeyi is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family known by the common names subalpine larkspur, tall larkspur, and Barbey's larkspur. It is native to the interior western United States, where it occurs in the states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming.
Delphinium exaltatum, known by the common name tall larkspur, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Delphinium, part of the buttercup family. Other Delphinium species are also commonly known as tall larkspur, such as Delphinium barbeyi. D. exaltatum is native to the central and eastern United States, where it can be found in Kentucky, Maine, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee, and Missouri.
Delphinium elatum is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae, known by the common name alpine delphinium, guardian lavender, or candle larkspur. It is native to temperate Asia and Europe, it is an erect herbaceous perennial growing to 1.8 m (5.9 ft), with deeply divided leaves. It produces spikes of blue or purple flowers in summer.
Delphinium nuttallii is a species of Delphinium native to Washington and Oregon of the western United States. Its common names include Nuttall's larkspur and Columbia larkspur.
Delphinium peregrinum, also commonly known as violet larkspur, is a Eurasian flowering plant, belonging to the genus Delphinium, endemic to Turkey, the Eastern Mediterranean and Western Irano-Turanian region, bearing an erect, annual stem with glabrous compound leaves and reaching a height of 27–35 cm. The plant, which blossoms between April and August, bears five colorful sepals (calyx), petaloid, the posterior sepal spurred, the two lateral sepals and the two lower sepals without spurs; while the anterior sepals can either be fused or separated. The inflorescence (corollas) are sparsely arranged, irregular, and are borne on long pedicels subtended by bracts.
Delphinium treleasei, commonly known as named glade larkspur or Trelease's larkspur, is a perennial flowering plant found it temperate areas of the eastern United States. It is native to Missouri and Arkansas where it is often situated in limestone glades but is not common in North America. It is endemic to Ozark highlands in eight southwestern Missouri counties and eight counties in northwestern Arkansas. D. treleasei is a vascular, seed plant, part of the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae). The name Delphinium treleasei originates from the Greek "delphis" which means dolphin in reference to the flower shape of many buttercups and the specific epithet "treleasei" honors William Trelease who was director of the Missouri Botanical Garden from 1889 to 1912.
Delphinium glareosum is a species of larkspur which grows in Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. It is in the Ranunculaceae. These plants favor rocky slopes. They flower in summer. Like all members of the genus Delphinium, rockslide larkspur is poisonous.
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