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Species Image Gallery (opens in a new window) |
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| THE BUTTERCUP FAMILY | |||||||||
| The buttercup family is common in temperate and boreal regions of the Northern Hemisphere. These plants are usually herbs, but may also be vines or shrubs. The stems do not have spines or prickles. The stem leaves are alternate or occasionally opposite or whorled. The leaves can be simple or compound but are at least lobed in the majority of species. The margins may be entire or toothed. The flowers are in several different types of clusters, from solitary flowers to branched, unbranched or umbrella-like groups. The flowers are commonly lacking petals and have coloured sepals. One to several whorls of bracts may be present below the flowers. The ovary consists of several separate carpels which mature to form an aggregate fruit or berry. The aggregates may be of pods or of single-seeded fruits that resemble seeds. | |||||||||
| TOWER LARKSPUR | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Delphinium glaucum | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Tower larkspur grows as tall as 200 cm from fibrous roots. The stem is green, hairless, and hollow. There are 15 to 20 leaves on the stem. The leaves are five to nine-lobed. The inflorescence has up to 90 flowers and is unbranched. The flowers are stalked and have small green to bluish bracts below. The sepals are bluish-purple to lavender and are short-hairy. Some of the sepals have straight, nectar-bearing spurs. The petals are also purple but may be white around the edges. There are many stamens. The fruit is an aggregate of pods. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Tower larkspur grows in meadows and along streambanks. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This plant is found in west-central and eastern Saskatchewan in the Aspen Parkland, Boreal Transition and Mid-Boreal Upland ecoregions. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Tall larkspur is threatened because of rarity in Saskatchewan. It is regionally restricted to a few locations in the province and most local populations are small. Possible threats have been identified for this species. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY TOWER LARKSPUR | |||||||||
| * Are the stems hollow and up to 200 cm tall? * Are the sepals and petals purplish-blue to lavender? * Are the inflorescences large and with up to 90 flowers? * Did you find it in west-central or eastern Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found tower larkspur! | |||||||||
