Delphinium bicolor (Low Larkspur) - photos and description
Two plants in above photo.
15 cm ruler for scale.
Basal leaf in above photo.
Stem leaf in above photo.
General: Low perennials, with an erect, few-branched growth habit. Plants are pubescent.
Flowers: Racemes of striking, long-spurred, purple-blue flowers. Flowers measured at 3.5 cm diameter. Early flowering, with flowers appearing in early May.
Leaves: Stem leaves alternate. Leaves reniform to orbicular, deeply cleft into linear segments, we measured leaf segments to 4 mm wide. Stem leaves measured at 6.5 cm diameter.
Height: Height listed in Budd's Flora to 50 cm, we've measured plants to 27 cm tall.
Habitat: Moist meadows on hillsides, and openings in woodlands, southwest Saskatchewan.
Abundance: Rare, ranked as an S3 (as of 2021) by the Saskatchewan Conservation Data Centre. Provincially rare, but common in the Cypress Hills.
Origin: Native.
When and where photographed: Photos taken May 11th and May 17th on a stony slope in the Cypress Hills, and May 19th, prairie hillside, Cypress Hills, 450 km southwest of our home in Regina, SK.