''Delphinium variegatum'' is a species of larkspur known by the common name royal larkspur. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, where it grows in mountains, valley and coast in

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (se ...

s and

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses ( Poaceae). However, sedge ( Cyperaceae) and rush ( Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur na ...

s. On the forest floor of

California oak woodland California oak woodland is a plant community found throughout the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion of California in the United States and northwestern Baja California in Mexico. Oak woodland is widespread at lower elevations in coastal ...

s typical plant associates are ''

Calochortus luteus ''Calochortus luteus'', the yellow mariposa lily, is a mariposa lily endemic to California. Description The primarily bright deep yellow flower is 3–5 cm across and perianth bulb-shaped, lined red-brown inside, often also with central re ...

'', '' Cynoglossum grande'' and ''

Calochortus amabilis ''Calochortus amabilis''Baldwin, B. G., D. H. Goldman, D. J. Keil, R. Patterson, T. J. Rosatti, and D. H. Wilken, editors. 2012. "The Jepson Manual: vascular plants of California", second edition. University of California press, Berkeley. pp 138 ...

''.

Description

This erect wildflower may reach half a meter in maximum height. Its leaves have deep lobes which may overlap. The long petioles are hairy. The branching

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphology (biology), Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of sperma ...

holds up to 25 widely spaced flowers, which are usually bright deep blue, and occasionally lighter blue or white, depending on subspecies. The spur is between one and two centimeters long.

Subspecies

There are three generally accepted subspecies. *ssp. ''kinkiense'' *ssp. ''thornei'' *ssp. ''kinkiensis'' Two of them, ssp. ''kinkiense'' and ssp. ''thornei'', are endemic to San Clemente Island, one of the

Channel Islands of California The Channel Islands () are an eight-island archipelago located within the Southern California Bight in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of California. The four Northern Channel Islands are part of the Transverse Ranges geologic province, ...

. Ssp. ''kinkiensis'', which is sometimes called ''Delphinium kinkiense'' ssp. ''kinkiense'', is treated as a federally listed endangered species. Although it is in fact rarer than ssp. ''kinkiensis'', ssp. ''thornei'' does not have a federal or state listing.Center for Plant Conservation Unlike the other two subspecies, ssp. ''kinkiensis'' sometimes bears white flowers. Blue-flowered individuals are difficult to differentiate from ssp. ''thornei''.

Notes

References

California Native Plant Society Rare Plant Profile

Center for Plant Conservation: ssp. ''thornei''
* C. Michael Hogan. 2009
''Gold Nuggets: Calochortus luteus'', GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg
* ''Jepson Manual''. 1993
''Delphinium variegatum''

External links

Calflora Database: ''Delphinium variegatum'' (royal larkspur) Jepson eFlora (TJM2): ''Delphinium variegatum''Center for Plant Conservation: ''Delphinium variegatum'' ssp. ''kinkiensis''UC Photos gallery − ''Delphinium variegatum''
variegatum Endemic flora of California Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of the California Coast Ranges Natural history of the Central Valley (California) Critically endangered flora of California Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Ranunculales-stub