Delphinium cardinale
Encyclopedia
Delphinium cardinale is a species of larkspur
known by the common names scarlet larkspur and cardinal larkspur. This wildflower is native to California
and Baja California
, where it grows on coastal, inland, and desert chaparral
slopes, such as the Colorado Desert
, and the Peninsular
and Transverse Ranges
.
several centimeters long. Each flower has scarlet red sepal
s which are generally curled forward into a bowl shape. The petals are also scarlet, except for the top two which are scarlet marked with bright yellow blotches. The flower may be 3 centimeters wide and the same in length, including the spur.
Delphinium
Delphinium is a genus of about 300 species of perennial flowering plants in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae, native throughout the Northern Hemisphere and also on the high mountains of tropical Africa. The common name, larkspur, is shared with the closely related genus Consolida...
known by the common names scarlet larkspur and cardinal larkspur. This wildflower is native to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and Baja California
Baja California
Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
, where it grows on coastal, inland, and desert chaparral
Chaparral
Chaparral is a shrubland or heathland plant community found primarily in the U.S. state of California and in the northern portion of the Baja California peninsula, Mexico...
slopes, such as the Colorado Desert
Colorado Desert
California's Colorado Desert is a part of the larger Sonoran Desert, which extends across southwest North America. The Colorado Desert region encompasses approximately , reaching from the Mexican border in the south to the higher-elevation Mojave Desert in the north and from the Colorado River in...
, and the Peninsular
Peninsular Ranges
The Peninsular Ranges are a group of mountain ranges, in the Pacific Coast Ranges, which stretch from southern California in the United States to the southern tip of Mexico's Baja California peninsula; they are part of the North American Coast Ranges that run along the Pacific coast from Alaska...
and Transverse Ranges
Transverse Ranges
The Transverse Ranges are a group of mountain ranges of southern California, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region that runs along the Pacific coast from Alaska to Mexico in North America. The Transverse Ranges begin at the southern end of the California Coast Ranges and lie between...
.
Description
This tall larkspur grows on an erect stem which often exceeds two meters-six feet in height. The leaves are divided into many narrow lobes. The top of the thin stem is occupied by many widely spaced flowers, each at the end of a pedicelPedicel (botany)
A pedicel is a stem that attaches single flowers to the main stem of the inflorescence. It is the branches or stalks that hold each flower in an inflorescence that contains more than one flower....
several centimeters long. Each flower has scarlet red sepal
Sepal
A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Collectively the sepals form the calyx, which is the outermost whorl of parts that form a flower. Usually green, sepals have the typical function of protecting the petals when the flower is in bud...
s which are generally curled forward into a bowl shape. The petals are also scarlet, except for the top two which are scarlet marked with bright yellow blotches. The flower may be 3 centimeters wide and the same in length, including the spur.