Delphinium californicum
Encyclopedia
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
.
It has a long root from which it erects tall stems usually exceeding a meter in height and often approaching two meters. The leaves arise on long petioles
and are each divided into as many as 15 fingerlike pointed lobes. The top of the stem is occupied with a very large inflorescence
usually containing over 50 flowers.
Each flower rises on a pedicel
several centimeters long. The sepal
s point forward to make a cup out of the mouth of the somewhat tubular flower. The longest sepals are about a centimeter long and the spur of the flower may approach two centimeters in length. The flower is generally white to greenish white to light lavender.
Delphinium
Delphinium is a genus of about 300 species of perennial flowering plants in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae, native throughout the Northern Hemisphere and also on the high mountains of tropical Africa. The common name, larkspur, is shared with the closely related genus Consolida...
known as California larkspur. This wildflower is endemic to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, where it is a resident of the chaparral
Chaparral
Chaparral is a shrubland or heathland plant community found primarily in the U.S. state of California and in the northern portion of the Baja California peninsula, Mexico...
slopes of the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
and Central Coast
Central Coast of California
The Central Coast is an area of California, United States, roughly spanning the area between the Monterey Bay and Point Conception. It extends through Santa Cruz County, San Benito County, Monterey County, San Luis Obispo County, and Santa Barbara County...
.
It has a long root from which it erects tall stems usually exceeding a meter in height and often approaching two meters. The leaves arise on long petioles
Petiole (botany)
In botany, the petiole is the stalk attaching the leaf blade to the stem. The petiole usually has the same internal structure as the stem. Outgrowths appearing on each side of the petiole are called stipules. Leaves lacking a petiole are called sessile, or clasping when they partly surround the...
and are each divided into as many as 15 fingerlike pointed lobes. The top of the stem is occupied with a very large inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
usually containing over 50 flowers.
Each flower rises on a pedicel
Pedicel (botany)
A pedicel is a stem that attaches single flowers to the main stem of the inflorescence. It is the branches or stalks that hold each flower in an inflorescence that contains more than one flower....
several centimeters long. The sepal
Sepal
A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Collectively the sepals form the calyx, which is the outermost whorl of parts that form a flower. Usually green, sepals have the typical function of protecting the petals when the flower is in bud...
s point forward to make a cup out of the mouth of the somewhat tubular flower. The longest sepals are about a centimeter long and the spur of the flower may approach two centimeters in length. The flower is generally white to greenish white to light lavender.