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 californicum is a species of larkspur known as California larkspur. This wildflower is endemic to California, where it is a resident of the chaparral slopes of the San Francisco Bay Area and Central Coast.
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 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.
Delphinium gracilentum is a species of larkspur known by the common name pine forest larkspur. It is endemic to California, where it grows throughout the Sierra Nevada. This wildflower is usually around half a meter in maximum height, with leaves growing from the lowest third of the stem. The leaves usually have five lobes. The upper part of the stem is occupied by widely spaced flowers, which each grow at the end of a pedicel a few centimeters long. The flower color may be any shade of blue, or occasionally white or pinkish. The sepals often curl backwards. The spur is usually between 1 and 1.5 centimeters long.
Delphinium gypsophilum is a species of larkspur known by the common name Pinoche Creek larkspur. It is endemic to California, where it grows throughout the central part of the state in woodland and grassland. This wildflower generally reaches between one half and one meter in height. Its pale whitish-green stem is topped with cylindrical inflorescences of up to 30 flowers on short pedicels. The flowers are chalk-white, sometimes drying to a faint blue. Occasional individuals bear pink or light blue flowers. The spur is one to one and a half centimeters long.
Delphinium hansenii is a species of larkspur known by the common names Eldorado larkspur and Hansen's delphinium. It is endemic to California, where it grows in mountains, valleys, and desert from the southern Cascade Range to the Mojave Desert. This wildflower usually grows between one half and one meter in height, although it can grow much taller. The deeply lobed leaves are hairy, especially on the undersides. The inflorescence has usually over 25 flowers grouped close together at the top of the stem and held on long pedicels. The flowers are white to light blue or light pink, or bicolored, and vary in size. The inner petals may be quite hairy.
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 twolobe larkspur, Nuttall's larkspur, and common 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 parryi is a species of larkspur known by the common names San Bernardino larkspur and Parry's larkspur. This wildflower is native to Baja California and California from the San Francisco Bay Area south. It is found in chaparral and woodlands and other habitats.
Delphinium purpusii is a rare species of larkspur known by the common names Kern County larkspur and rose-flowered larkspur. It is endemic to California where it is known only from Kern and Tulare Counties in the region where the Sierra Nevada meets the Mojave Desert. It grows on rocky cliffs and talus. This wildflower reaches between one half and one meter in height. The erect thin stem has deeply lobed leaves around the base and a small, narrow inflorescence of generally ten to 20 flowers at the top. The flowers of this species are bright pink, making it unusual among the mainly blue-flowered plants of this genus. The sepals curl either forward or back.
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.
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.
Delphinium pavonaceum is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family known by the common name peacock larkspur. It is endemic to Oregon in the United States, where it is limited to the Willamette Valley.
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.
