A beautiful surprise of color!

This plant has different common names according to it’s setting. Naturalists and gardeners refer to it as Delphinium, hikers call it Larkspur, and farmers/ranchers know it as Cow Poison!

Delphinium trolliifolium

Poison larkspur

Description:

Stems hollow, erect, easily broken from root
Leaves with petioles to 10 inches, shiny, hairless, divided into many wide-tipped lobes with irregular, sharp teeth.
Flower spike narrow. Flowers dark blue, with white upper petals in center, spur straight, may have yellow hairs on stalk. Flower is four times as long as it is wide and curved back
Delphinine, a poison in this species and many members of this family, can cause death.

Rarity: Locally Common
Flowering Time: Late Spring, Early Summer
Life Cycle: Perennial
Height: 2 to 6 feet
Habitat: Meadow, Woods, moist shady places in oak woods or chaparral (a type of shrubland with dense, rocky soil) at low to mid elevations
Found In: Cascades, West Gorge
Native: Yes