Delphinium tricorne

Last updated

Delphinium tricorne
Delphinium tricorne 2.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. tricorne
Binomial name
Delphinium tricorne

Delphinium tricorne, known by the common names dwarf larkspur [1] or spring larkspur, [2] 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. [3]

Contents

Description

D. tricorne is a perennial plant that grows to a height of 15–45 centimetres (6–18 in), with a thin flowering stalk rising from a group of basal leaves. There are a few alternate leaves along the stalk. All the leaves are grayish green to green, and deeply divided into about 5 lobes that are then each divided further into 2 or 3 secondary lobes. The basal leaves are up to 10 centimetres (4 in) long and across. [4]

The inflorescence is a raceme at the end of the stalk consisting of 6 to 24 flowers that are violet, blue, white, or a mixture of these colors. [5] The flowers have 4 to 5 sepals and a long, narrow spur in the back. They are 1–1.5 inches (3–4 cm) long. [6]

Etymology

The genus name, Delphinium, comes from the Greek word for "dolphin", and may refer to the shape of the flowers. The specific epithet, tricorne, is Latin for "with three horns", which describes the shape of the fruit. [5]

Distribution and habitat

D. tricorne is native in the United States from Nebraska to the west, Pennsylvania to the east, Alabama and Mississippi to the south, and Minnesota to the north. [1] It is found in rich mesic forests, often over calcareous rocks. [7]

Ecology

The plant is pollinated by bumblebees and hummingbirds, and several other species of bees visit the flowers for nectar and/or pollen. [8]

Toxicity

The diterpenoid alkaloids lycoctonine and tricornine (otherwise known as lycoctonine-18-O-acetate) have been isolated from D. tricorne. [9] The toxicology and pharmacology of lycoctonine have been quite well studied, but there is only limited information available concerning the biological properties of tricornine. [10] Both alkaloids have neuro-muscular blocking properties, [11] and D. tricorne should be treated as a potentially poisonous plant. This species has long been regarded as poisonous to livestock. [12]

Related Research Articles

<i>Delphinium</i> Genus of flowering plants in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae

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.

<i>Campanula rotundifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

Campanula rotundifolia, the harebell, Scottish bluebell, or bluebell of Scotland, is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family Campanulaceae. This herbaceous perennial is found throughout the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. In Scotland, it is often known simply as bluebell. It is the floral emblem of Sweden where it is known as small bluebell. It produces its violet-blue, bell-shaped flowers in late summer and autumn.

<i>Sanguinaria</i> Genus of flowering plants in the poppy family Papaveraceae

Sanguinaria canadensis, bloodroot, is a perennial, herbaceous flowering plant native to eastern North America. It is the only species in the genus Sanguinaria, included in the poppy family Papaveraceae, and is most closely related to Eomecon of eastern Asia.

<i>Toxicoscordion venenosum</i> Species of plant

Toxicoscordion venenosum, with the common names death camas and meadow death camas, is a species of flowering plants in the genus Toxicoscordion, of the Melanthiaceae family. It is native to western North America.

<i>Cornus canadensis</i> Species of flowering plant

Cornus canadensis is a species of flowering plant in the dogwood family Cornaceae, native to eastern Asia and North America. Common names include Canadian dwarf cornel, Canadian bunchberry, quatre-temps, crackerberry, and creeping dogwood. Unlike its relatives, which are for the most part substantial trees and shrubs, C. canadensis is a creeping, rhizomatous perennial growing to about 20 centimetres tall.

<i>Arnoglossum atriplicifolium</i> Species of flowering plant

Arnoglossum atriplicifolium, the pale Indian plantain, is a perennial herbaceous wildflower in the sunflower family (Asteraceae). native to the central and eastern United States. It can reach heights of up to 3 metres (10 ft), with dramatic clusters of white flowers at the top of a central, unbranching stalk.

<i>Consolida regalis</i> Species of plant

Consolida regalis, known as forking larkspur, rocket-larkspur, and field larkspur, is an annual herbaceous plant belonging to the genus Consolida of the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae).

<i>Actaea pachypoda</i> Species of plant

Actaea pachypoda, the white baneberry or doll's-eyes, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Actaea, of the family Ranunculaceae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Methyllycaconitine</span>

Methyllycaconitine (MLA) is a diterpenoid alkaloid found in many species of Delphinium (larkspurs). In common with many other diterpenoid alkaloids, it is toxic to animals, although the acute toxicity varies with species. Early research was focused on identifying, and characterizing the properties of methyllycaconitine as one of the principal toxins in larkspurs responsible for livestock poisoning in the mountain rangelands of North America. Methyllycaconitine has been explored as a possible therapeutic agent for the treatment of spastic paralyses in man, and it has been shown to have insecticidal properties. Most recently, it has become an important molecular probe for studying the pharmacology of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor.

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

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).

<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 cardinale</i> Species of plant

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.

<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 glaucum</i> Species of plant

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

Leavenworthia crassa is a species of flowering plant in the mustard family, Brassicaceae, known commonly as the fleshy-fruit gladecress. It is endemic to Alabama in the United States, where it occurs in only two counties. It is "likely one of the most imperiled plant species in the Southeast," and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service issued a final rule listing it as an endangered species in 2014.

<i>Delphinium peregrinum</i>

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.

References

  1. 1 2 "NatureServe Explorer 2.0". explorer.natureserve.org.
  2. "Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - The University of Texas at Austin". www.wildflower.org.
  3. Flora of North America
  4. "Dwarf Larkspur (Delphinium tricorne)". www.illinoiswildflowers.info.
  5. 1 2 Denison, Edgar (2017). Missouri Wildflowers (Sixth ed.). Conservation Commission of the State of Missouri. p. 83. ISBN   978-1-887247-59-7.
  6. "Vascular Plants of North Carolina". auth1.dpr.ncparks.gov.
  7. "Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States". Archived from the original on 2018-10-06. Retrieved 2017-01-15.
  8. Macior, Lazarus Walter (November 1975). "THE POLLINATION ECOLOGY OF DELPHINIUM TRICORNE (RANUNCUL ACEAE)". American Journal of Botany. pp. 1009–1016. doi:10.1002/j.1537-2197.1975.tb11765.x.
  9. S. W. Pelletier and J. Bhattacharyya (1977) Phytochemistry16 1464.
  10. M. H. Benn and J. M. Jacyno (1983). In Alkaloids: Chemical and Biological Perspectives, Vol. 1, (S. W. Pelletier, Ed.) pp. 153-210, New York: Wiley.
  11. See Wikipedia entry for methyllycaconitine.
  12. V. K. Chesnut (1898) USDA Farmer's Bull.86 11-13.