| Delphinium nuttallii | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Ranunculales |
| Family: | Ranunculaceae |
| Genus: | Delphinium |
| Species: | D. nuttallii |
| Binomial name | |
| Delphinium nuttallii A.Gray | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
| |
Delphinium nuttallii is a species of Delphinium native to Washington and Oregon (the Columbia River Gorge) of the western United States. [1] Its common names include Nuttall's larkspur and Columbia larkspur. [2] [3]
Delphinium nuttallii was first described by Asa Gray in the Botanical Gazette 12(3): 54, in 1887. [4] Nuttallii was named in honor of Thomas Nuttall, an English botanist. [5]
The erect divided stems are covered in fine upward curving hairs. The erect leaves are either 2 to 3 inches long and divided nearly to the center. The 3 lobes are each divided into even smaller lobes. The sticky inflorescence has many single flowers on a spike with stalks that are 1 inch long or shorter. The flowers are 5 light to deep blue sepals, a long slender light blue spur, 2 upper pale blue notched petals, and 2 bright blue petals to the sides. It can be confused with Delphinium nuttallianum, who is also named after Thomas Nuttall, but D. nuttallianum is a lot shorter. [6]
It is found in many counties in Washington and Oregon. In Washington state, it is found in Cowlitz, Clark, Skamania, Klickitat, and Benton counties in the south of the state, and in Grays Harbor, Mason, Thurston, and Pierce counties in the central-west. In Oregon state, it is found in Douglas, Josephine, Jackson, Klamath, Lake, Harney, Malheur, Crock, Grant, Umatilla, Union, and Wallowa counties in the south and east of the state, and Columbia, Multnomah, Clackamas, Yamhill, Hood River, and Wasco counties in the north west of the state. [6]
Thomas Nuttall was an English botanist and zoologist who lived and worked in America from 1808 until 1841.
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.
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.
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 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 decorum is a species of larkspur known by the common names coastal larkspur and yellow-tinge larkspur. This wildflower is native to California and Oregon, where it grows on the slopes of the coastal ranges from the San Francisco Bay Area north to the southern Oregon coast. It has 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.
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.
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.
Delphinium hutchinsoniae is a rare species of larkspur known by the common names Monterey larkspur and Hutchinson's larkspur. It is endemic to California, where it is known only from Monterey County. This wildflower reaches a meter in height but is usually shorter. The leaves are divided into lobes which are further divided into smaller lobes, and they are mostly located low on the plant. The top of the thin, erect stem is occupied by an inflorescence of not more than ten flowers. Each flower has sepals which are brilliant purple or blue to lavender, two petals which are the same color, and two upper petals which are usually white. The spur is up to two centimeters long and curves down at the tip.
Delphinium nuttallianum is a species of larkspur known by the common names two-lobe larkspur, upland larkspur, common larkspur, and Nuttall's larkspur. It is widely distributed across western North America from California to Alberta, including mountain meadows and the majority of the sagebrush steppe, except very dry areas.
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.
Ribes lobbii is a shrubby, deciduous, shade-intolerant perennial dicot found on the western coast of North America. It was first described in 1876 by Asa Gray. The specific epithet was a dedication to the English plant collector William Lobb.
Ribes nevadense is a species of currant known by the common names Sierra currant and mountain pink currant.
Delphinium viridescens is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family known by the common name Wenatchee larkspur. It is endemic to central Washington state in the United States, where it occurs in the Wenatchee Mountains in Chelan and Kittitas Counties.
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.
Polygonum nuttallii is a North American species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family known by the common name Nuttall's knotweed. It grows in the Pacific Northwest, in British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon.
Delphinium leucophaeum is an endangered species of larkspur known by the common name white rock larkspur or pale larkspur. It is endemic to the Willamette Valley of Oregon. Some consider it to be a synonym for or variety of Delphinium nuttallii.
Delphinium geyeri is a species of plant in the Ranunculaceae family that is often called by the common names plains larkspur or 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 madrense is a plant species in the Ranunculaceae family. Common English names are Sierra Madre larkspur and Edwards' Plateau larkspur. In Spanish, it is commonly called espuela de caballero del noreste, meaning northeast knight's spur. It is native to Texas, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas.