''Delphinium'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of about 300

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of annual and perennial

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Ranunculaceae Ranunculaceae (, buttercup or crowfoot family; Latin "little frog", from "frog") is a family (biology), family of over 2,000 known species of flowering plants in 43 genera, distributed worldwide. The largest genera are ''Ranunculus'' (600 spec ...

, native throughout the Northern Hemisphere and also on the high mountains of tropical Africa. The genus was erected by

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

. All members of the genus ''Delphinium'' are toxic to humans and livestock. The common name larkspur is shared between perennial ''Delphinium'' species and annual species of the genus '' Consolida''. Molecular data show that ''Consolida'', as well as another segregate genus, ''Aconitella'', are both embedded in ''Delphinium''. The genus name ''Delphinium'' derives from the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

word () which means " dolphin", a name used in '' De Materia Medica'' for some kind of larkspur. Pedanius Dioscorides said the plant got its name because of its dolphin-shaped flowers.

Habitat

Species with short stems and few flowers such as '' Delphinium nuttallianum'' and '' Delphinium bicolor'' appear in habitats like prairies and the sagebrush steppe. Tall and robust species with many flowers, such as '' Delphinium occidentale'', appear more often in forests.

Description

The

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

are deeply lobed with three to seven toothed, pointed lobes in a palmate shape. The main flowering stem is erect, and varies greatly in size between the species, from 10 centimetres in some alpine species, up to 2 m tall in the larger

meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non- woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as they maintain an open character. Meadows can occur naturally under favourable con ...

land species. In June and July (Northern Hemisphere), the plant is topped with a raceme of many

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

s, varying in colour from purple and blue, to red, yellow, or white. The flowers are bilaterally symmetrical and have many

stamen The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

s. In most species, each flower consists of five petal-like

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

s which grow together to form a hollow pocket with a spur at the end, which gives the plant its name, usually more or less dark blue. Within the sepals are four true

petal Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corol ...

s, small, inconspicuous, and commonly coloured similarly to the sepals. The uppermost sepal is spurred, and encloses the nectar-secreting spurs of the two upper petals. The

seed In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be Sowing, sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds ...

s are small and often shiny black. The plants flower from late spring to late summer, and are pollinated by butterflies and bumble bees. Despite the toxicity, ''Delphinium'' species are used as food plants by the

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

e of some

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) or lepidopterans is an order (biology), order of winged insects which includes butterflies and moths. About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera have been described, representing 10% of the total described species of living organ ...

species, including the dot moth and

small angle shades The small angle shades (''Euplexia lucipara'') is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is distributed throughout the Palearctic. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae''. As the common name ...

Taxonomy

Delineation of ''Delphinium''

Genetic analysis suggests that ''Delphinium'' ''sensu lato'', as it was delineated before the 21st century, is

polyphyletic A polyphyletic group is an assemblage that includes organisms with mixed evolutionary origin but does not include their most recent common ancestor. The term is often applied to groups that share similar features known as Homoplasy, homoplasies ...

. Nested within ''Delphinium'' ''s.l.'' are ''Aconitella'', '' Consolida'', and '' Aconitum''. To make ''Delphinium''

monophyletic In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent co ...

, several interventions were made. The new genus '' Staphisagria'' was erected containing ''Staphisagria macrosperma'' (''D. staphisagria''), ''S. requienii'' (''D. requini'') and ''S. picta'' (''D. pictum''), representing the

sister group In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and ...

to all other Delphinieae. Further genetic analysis has shown that the two large subgenera ''Aconitum (Aconitum)'' and ''Aconitum (Lycoctonum)'' are the sister group to ''Aconitum gymnandrum'', ''Delphinium (Delphinium)'', ''Delphinium (Delphinastrum)'', ''Consolida'' and ''Aconitella''. To make ''Aconitum''

, ''A. gymnandrum'' has now been reassigned to a new

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

genus, '' Gymnaconitum''. Finally, ''Consolida'' and ''Aconitella'' are synonymized with ''Delphinium''.

Subgenera

''D. arthriscifolium'' is sister to all other species of ''Delphinium'' ''sensu stricto'' (so excluding ''Staphisagria''). It should be placed in its own subgenus, but no proposal naming this subgenus has been made yet. The subgenera ''Delphinium (Delphinium)'' and ''Delphinium (Delphinastrum)'' are sister to the group consisting of the species of ''Consolida'' and ''Aconitella'', which together make up the subgenus ''Delphinium (Consolida)''. ''Aconitella'' cannot be retained as a subgenus because ''A. barbata'' does not cluster with the remaining species previously assigned to that genus, without creating five further subgenera.

Selected species

Reassigned species

Several species of ''Delphinium'' have been reassigned: * ''D. pictum'' = '' Staphisagria picta'' * ''D. requienii'' = '' Staphisagria requienii'' * ''D. staphisagria'' = '' Staphisagria macrosperma''

Ecology

Delphiniums can attract butterflies and other

pollinator A pollinator is an animal that moves pollen from the male anther of a flower to the female carpel, stigma of a flower. This helps to bring about fertilization of the ovules in the flower by the male gametes from the pollen grains. Insects are ...

Cultivation

Various delphiniums are cultivated as

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or ''garden plants'' are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars th ...

s, for traditional and native plant gardens. The numerous hybrids and cultivars are primarily used as garden plants, providing height at the back of the summer border, in association with roses, lilies, and geraniums. Most delphinium hybrids and cultivars are derived from ''D. elatum''. Hybridisation was developed in the 19th century, led by Victor Lemoine in France. Other hybrid crosses have included ''D. bruninianum'', ''D. cardinale'', ''D. cheilanthum'', and ''D. formosum''. Numerous cultivars have been selected as garden plants, and for cut flowers and floristry. They are available in shades of white, pink, purple, and blue. The blooming plant is also used in displays and specialist competitions at flower and garden shows, such as the Chelsea Flower Show. The 'Pacific Giant' hybrids are a group with individual single-colour cultivar names, developed by Reinelt in the United States. They typically grow to tall on long stems, by wide. They reportedly can tolerate deer. Millennium delphinium hybrids, bred by Dowdeswell's in New Zealand, are reportedly better in warmer climates than the Pacific hybrids. Flower colours in shades of red, orange, and pink have been hybridized from ''D. cardinale'' by Americans Reinelt and Samuelson. Since 2024 the UK National Collection of delphiniums has been held by Colin Parton at Delph Cottage Garden, south east of

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

. Parton has over 100 cultivars, 21 of which are on the endangered list on Plant Heritage’s Threatened Plants Programme. He occasionally opens his garden to the public in return for a donation to the charity Cancer Research.

Award of garden merit

The following delphinium cultivars have received the

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. It includes the full range of cultivated p ...

from the British

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

Toxicity

All parts of these plants are considered toxic to humans, especially the younger parts, causing severe digestive discomfort if ingested, and skin irritation. Larkspur, especially tall larkspur, is a significant cause of cattle poisoning on rangelands in the western United States. Larkspur is more common in high-elevation areas, and many ranchers delay moving cattle onto such ranges until late summer when the toxicity of the plants is reduced. Death is through cardiotoxic and neuromuscular blocking effects, and can occur within a few hours of ingestion. All parts of the plant contain various diterpenoid

alkaloid Alkaloids are a broad class of natural product, naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. Some synthetic compounds of similar structure may also be termed alkaloids. Alkaloids are produced by a large varie ...

s, typified by methyllycaconitine, and are very poisonous.

Uses

The juice of the flowers, particularly ''D. consolida'', mixed with

alum An alum () is a type of chemical compound, usually a hydrated double salt, double sulfate salt (chemistry), salt of aluminium with the general chemical formula, formula , such that is a valence (chemistry), monovalent cation such as potassium ...

, gives a blue ink. All plant parts are poisonous in large doses, especially the seeds, that contain up to 1.4% of alkaloids.

References

External links

General Nomenclature in GRIN:
GRIN: Species in the genus ''Delphinium'' — ''with links by species for information + synonyms''.

— ''native U.S. species and grazing toxicity''.
MBG—Kemper Center for Home Gardening: Delphinium "Pacific Giant Hybrids"
— ''horticultural information''.

— ''horticultural information''. {{Authority control Garden plants Medicinal plants Ranunculaceae genera