Delphinium carolinianum in Flora of North America @ efloras.org

36. Delphinium carolinianum Walter, Fl. Carol. 155. 1788.

Stems (20-)40-90(-150) cm; base reddish or not, ± pubescent. Leaves basal and cauline; basal leaves 0-10 at anthesis; cauline leaves 4-12 at anthesis; petiole 0.1-14 cm. Leaf blade round to pentagonal, 1-8 × 2-12 cm, pubescence variable; ultimate lobes 3-29, width 2-10 mm (basal), 1-7 mm (cauline). Inflorescences (3-)8-27(-94)-flowered; pedicel (0.4-)0.7-1.8(-5.7) cm, nearly glabrous to glandular; bracteoles 1-3.5(-6) mm from flowers, green or blue, linear, 2-7 mm, pubescence nearly glabrous to glandular. Flowers: sepals purple to blue to white, nearly glabrous, lateral sepals spreading, (7-)9-14(-17) × (3-)3.5-6(-8) mm, spurs ± upcurved, ascending 20-90° above vertical, (9-)11-17(-19) mm; lower petal blades ± covering stamens, 5-7 mm, cleft 2-4 mm; hairs centered, densest near base of cleft, white, sometimes blue or yellow. Fruits (10-)12.5-18.5(-27) mm, 4-4.5 times longer than wide, glabrous to puberulent. Seeds: seed coat cells with surfaces pustulate or smooth.

1 Basal leaves absent at anthesis, cauline leaves divided into many narrow (less than 2 mm wide) segments, blade not distinctly 3-parted; distalmost petiole less than 5 mm; sepals usually blue or purple (rarely white). 36a subsp. carolinianum

+ Basal leaves usually present at anthesis, and/or cauline leaf lobes usually wider than 2 mm, blade often distinctly 3-parted or more; distalmost petiole more than 5 mm; sepals blue or white. (2)

2 (1) Leaf blade distinctly 3-parted with few additional divisions; sepals blue to white; roots usually ± vertical, often without major branches. 36c subsp. vimineum

+ Leaf blade with 3–5 or more major divisions, each further divided into segments; sepals white to very pale blue; roots ±horizontal with several major branches. (3)

3 (2) Stems usually less than 45 cm; in thin soils over limestone in clearings of deciduous woods; leaf blade with 3 major divisions; e of Mississippi River. 36b subsp. calciphilum

+ Stems usually more than 45 cm; in deeper soils in grasslands; leaf blade with 5 or more major divisions; w of Mississippi River. 36d subsp. virescens

Lower Taxa