Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Ranunculales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Delphinium tricorne
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Learn more about Dwarf Larkspur from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Delphinium tricorne
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Delphinium tricorne
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Delphinium tricorne
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 076-03-002:
Delphinium tricorne FAMILY Ranunculaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Delphinium tricorne
COMMON NAME:
Dwarf Larkspur
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_detr_001_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm070422_053b
April Buncombe County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Flowers (sepals) usually deep bluish violet, but ranging thru pink to white, per Weakley's Flora.
)
JK Marlow jkm190427_7779
April Jackson County SC
Blue Ridge Parkway
The upper sepal is prolonged backward into a long hollow spur, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
JK Marlow jkm190427_7789
April Jackson County SC
Blue Ridge Parkway
All plant parts of the genus Delphinium are poisonous, per Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005).
)
Keith Bradley kab_d_tricorne_4490
April Haywood County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_delphinium_tricorne
April
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_delphinium_tricorne_3
April
Flowers blue, white or bi-colored, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_delphinium_tricorne_4
April
)
JK Marlow jkm160503_161
May Haywood County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm160503_164
May Haywood County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Flowers borne in a loose terminal raceme to 8" long, per Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm160503_171
May Haywood County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Follicles several-seeded, ellipsoid, beaked, divergent, glabrate, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
Patrick D. McMillan pdmdtricorne_pw3752
May
)
Patrick D. McMillan pdmdtricorne_whitepw3752
May
)
JK Marlow s050522_g
May Haywood County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Leaves mostly at the base of the plant, deeply lobed into irregular segments, per Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977).
COMPARE
leaves of Geranium, Larkspur and Monkshood
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Delphinium tricorne
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Delphinium tricorne
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Delphinium tricorne
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Delphinium tricorne
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 076-03-002:
Delphinium tricorne
FAMILY
Ranunculaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Delphinium tricorne
441
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: Rich, moist forests, especially over mafic or calcareous rocks, less commonly (as along the Roanoke River in ne. NC) on very fertile alluvial deposits, moist prairies, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Uncommon in NC Mountains (rare elsewhere in GA-NC-SC)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple: Pedately or palmately lobed or parted
Alternate & basal
FLOWER:
Spring
Deep bluish-violet (usually), ranging through pink to pure white
Not symmetrical
5 sepals (one of them spurred)
Four petals
Numerous stamens
Superior ovary
Flowers in a loose raceme
FRUIT:
Spring
Follicle
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- All About South Carolina Wildflowers (Midgley, 1999) p142
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p119
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p068
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p417
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p013
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p071
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p305
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p037
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p058
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p043
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