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Tall
Larkspur
Common
Name(s):
Tall larkspur
Duncecap larkspur
Scientific
Name:
Delphinium
occidentale (S. Wats.) S. Wats.
Scientific
Name Synonyms:
Delphinium barbeyi
(Huth) Huth
Symbol:
DEOC
Description:
Life
Span: Perennial
Origin:
Native
Season: Warm
Growth Characteristics:
An
erect forb growing 3 to 8 feet tall, with stems that are somewhat
straw-colored and hollow at the base and a darker bluish color above.
It grows from a deep, vertical, woody taproot, beginning growth
in late spring, flowering July to August, and seeds maturing from
August to September. Reproduces from seeds.
Flowers/Inflorescence:
Perfect
and irregular. Bluish-purple in color with a spur-like projection
on the calyx, which looks like a duncecap, hence its name. Flowers
grow in dense clusters (raceme) at the top of the stem.
Fruits/Seeds:Fruits
are follicles, which are highly poisonous.
Leaves: Divided
into sharp pointed segments (palmately lobed), hairy, and resemble
geranium in pre-bloom stage.
Ecological
Adaptations:
Tall
larkspur occurs in meadows, thickets, stream banks, around springs
and in moist meadows and open woods. It is most abundant where the
snow pack persists. It is usually associated with aspen and spruce
groves.
Soils: Favors
deep, loamy, well-developed soils.
Associated Species:
Aspen,
goldenrod, Richardson's geranium,
chokecherry, brome grasses.
Uses and
Management:
Tall
larkspur provides fair to good forage for sheep and some wildlife.
It is palatable to cattle even though other plants are available.
Horses seldom eat it. Tall larkspur is poisonous to cattle until
after blossoming. It contains alkaloids, which act on the nervous
system. Death may result following paralysis of breathing; bloat
is common. Seeds are the most poisonous part of the plant.
American Indians crushed Larkspur plants and applied it to their
hair to control lice and other insects.
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