Delphinium nudicaule
Encyclopedia
Delphinium nudicaule is a flowering plant known by the common names red larkspur, orange larkspur, and canyon delphinium. It sends up long, stringy thin stems with few leaves and bears attractive larkspur
flowers in shades of red and orange. It is native to the low elevation canyons, foothills, and slopes of California and Oregon. The flowers attract hummingbird
s. The root of the plant has been historically used as a medicinal narcotic
, chiefly by the Mendocino Native Americans
.
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...
flowers in shades of red and orange. It is native to the low elevation canyons, foothills, and slopes of California and Oregon. The flowers attract hummingbird
Hummingbird
Hummingbirds are birds that comprise the family Trochilidae. They are among the smallest of birds, most species measuring in the 7.5–13 cm range. Indeed, the smallest extant bird species is a hummingbird, the 5-cm Bee Hummingbird. They can hover in mid-air by rapidly flapping their wings...
s. The root of the plant has been historically used as a medicinal narcotic
Narcotic
The term narcotic originally referred medically to any psychoactive compound with any sleep-inducing properties. In the United States of America it has since become associated with opioids, commonly morphine and heroin and their derivatives, such as hydrocodone. The term is, today, imprecisely...
, chiefly by the Mendocino Native Americans
Yuki tribe
The Yuki are a Native American people from the zone of Round Valley, in what today is part of the territory of Mendocino County, Northern California. Yuki tribes are thought to have settled as far south as Hood Mountain in present-day Sonoma County...
.