Delphinium hesperium

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Delphinium hesperium
Delphinium hesperium.jpg
Status TNC G5.svg
Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Ranunculales
Family: Ranunculaceae
Genus: Delphinium
Species:
D. hesperium
Binomial name
Delphinium hesperium

Delphinium hesperium is a species of larkspur known by the common name foothill larkspur. It is also sometimes called western larkspur and coastal larkspur, but these names are less specific since other species share them. It is endemic to California, where it grows in woodland and grassland in the northern half of the state. This wildflower generally reaches one half to one meter in height. It has deeply lobed, prominently veined leaves, mostly located near the base of the plant. The inflorescence may hold very few to over 100 flowers, each on a long, thick pedicel. The flowers are usually a brilliant blue or purple, and sometimes lighter pinkish to white. Often the sepals are dark in color and the petals lighter. The spur is about one to two centimeters long.

There are three subspecies of this plant. The Cuyamaca larkspur (ssp. cuyamacae) is native to the Peninsular Ranges, occurring near Cuyamaca Lake and possibly Palomar Mountain in San Diego County. [1] The ssp. hesperium is native to the North Coast Ranges. [2] The pale-flowered western larkspur (ssp. pallescens), which has white, pink, or light blue sepals, occurs in the Coast Ranges. [3]

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<i>Delphinium bakeri</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Delphinium patens</i> Species of flowering plant

Delphinium patens is a species of larkspur known by the common names zigzag larkspur and spreading larkspur. It is a wildflower limited mainly to California. Though not yet confirmed there, it is expected in Baja California. Plants grow typically 20 to 50 centimeters tall and bear up to 36 flowers each. The stems are mostly hairless, have reddish bases, and bears leaves on the lower half. Each leaf is divided into 3 to 9 lobes. The flower has dark blue sepals, the latter ones reflexed. The spur at the back of the flower is 4 to 8 millimeters long. The cleft at the center of the flower has white or yellowish scattered hairs. The elongated fruit is one or two centimeters long and contains pitted seeds.

<i>Delphinium andersonii</i> Species of flowering plant

Delphinium andersonii is a species of perennial larkspur known as Anderson's larkspur. This wildflower is native to western North America, where it can be found in the Great Basin and the Sierra Nevada.

Delphinium decorum is a species of larkspur known by the common names coastal larkspur and yellowtinge larkspur. This wildflower is endemic to California, where it grows on the slopes of the coastal ranges in the San Francisco Bay Area and north. It grows an erect stem which approaches half a meter in height at maximum. The leaves, which are divided into a number of narrow lobes, are mostly located about the base of the plant. The spindly stem above bears two to twenty widely spaced flowers. Each flower is carried on a pedicel several centimeters long. The five long, flat sepals are extended to give the face of the flower a star shape, and they are usually deep blue to purple. The petals are similar in color, except the top two may be lighter to almost white. The spur is very thin and may be nearly two centimeters long.

<i>Delphinium depauperatum</i> Species of flowering plant

Delphinium depauperatum is a species of larkspur known by the common names slim larkspur and dwarf larkspur. This wildflower is native to western North America where it is found in mountain meadows. It grows from a short root and erects a stem usually under 40 centimeters in maximum height. The small leaves are divided into lobes and are usually located about the base of the plant. Toward the top of the stem are flowers on long pedicels, with usually not more than 20 flowers per plant. The flowers generally have deep dark blue sepals which are flat and extended to the sides, and petals which are mainly the same color except for the top two, which may be lighter blue to white. The spur is between one and two centimeters long.

<i>Delphinium variegatum</i> Species of plant

Delphinium variegatum is a species of larkspur known by the common name royal larkspur. It is endemic to California, where it grows in mountains, valley and coast in woodlands and grasslands. On the forest floor of California oak woodlands typical plant associates are Calochortus luteus, Cynoglossum grande and Calochortus amabilis.

<i>Gilia capitata</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Caltha leptosepala</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Delphinium polycladon</i> Species of flowering plant

Delphinium polycladon is a species of larkspur known by the common name mountain marsh larkspur. It is native to the High Sierra Nevada and the White and Inyo Mountains of eastern California and far western Nevada, where it grows in wet sites in the talus. It is a perennial herb producing one or more erect stems which easily exceed a meter in height but often remain dwarfed in high-elevation, exposed habitat with thin soils. The leaves are small and mostly located near the base of the plant. The inflorescence is a raceme of up to 35 flowers on long, S-shaped pedicels, often arranged along one side of the stem. The sepals are deep blue to purple, one to two centimeters long, and with a spur up to 2 centimeters in length.

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<i>Silene scouleri</i>

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Stellaria longipes is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae known by the common names longstalk starwort and Goldie's starwort. It has a circumpolar distribution, occurring throughout the northernmost latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. It grows in a wide variety of habitat types, including tundra and taiga and many areas farther south with subalpine and alpine climates. It is extremely variable in morphology, its form depending on both genetic makeup and environmental conditions. It has a widely varying number of chromosomes. In general, it is a rhizomatous perennial herb forming mats or clumps, or growing erect. The stems may be short and simple or with sprawling and highly branched. The linear to lance-shaped leaves are usually 1 to 4 centimeters long and are oppositely arranged in pairs. The inflorescence bears one or more flowers, each on a short pedicel. The flower has five pointed green sepals each a few millimeters long. There are five white petals each divided into two lobes, sometimes shallowly, but often so deeply there appear to be two petals. The plant is gynodioecious, with some flowers having functional male and female reproductive parts and others being only female.

Streptanthus insignis is an uncommon species of flowering plant in the mustard family known by the common names plumed jewelflower and San Benito jewelflower. It is endemic to California, where it is known only from the Inner Central Coast Ranges. It grows in grassland and chaparral habitat, usually on serpentine soils. It is an annual herb producing a hairy, bristly, branching stem up to about 60 centimeters long. The lance-shaped basal leaves are borne on short petioles. Leaves midway up the stem are longer, and those near the top are shorter. They sometimes clasp the stem at their bases. Flowers occur at intervals along the upper stem. The uppermost flowers are often sterile and different in form. Each fertile flower has a bell-shaped calyx of sepals which is purple or greenish-yellow depending on subspecies. The petals at the tip are purplish or yellowish, also depending on subspecies. The fruit is a flat, straight silique which may be over 11 centimeters long.

<i>Paronychia chartacea</i>

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Symphyotrichum lanceolatum is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae native to North America. Common names include lance-leaved aster, panicled aster, and white panicled aster. It is a perennial, herbaceous plant that may reach 1.5 meters tall or more, sometimes approaching 2 meters. It has a stout rhizome and can spread to form a clonal colony. The species is currently divided into five varieties which have minor differences in appearance and vary in chromosome counts as well as distribution, with some overlap.

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References

  1. ssp. cuyamacae. Flora of North America.
  2. ssp. hesperium. Flora of North America.
  3. ssp. pallescens. Flora of North America.