374
DELPHINIUM vimineum.
Wand-like Larkspur.
Linnean Class and Order. POLYANDRIA TRIGYNIA.
Natural Order. RANUNCULACEiE. Juss. gen. p. 2,31.
DE LPH IN IUM . Suprà fol. 309. _
Sect. 3 . D e l p h i n a s t k u m . Ovaria 3 - 5 ; petala libera, inferiora in disco
barbata bifida; calcar elongatum internum dipetalum. Species perennes.
Decand. syst. l .p . 361. prodr. \ .p . 5 3 .
** Petalorum inferiorum limbo bifido.
D. vimineum, pubescens ; petiolis simplieibus, foliis planis tripartitis : segmentis
cuneatis obtusis mucronulatis trilobis ; summis linearibus indivisis tripartitisve,
racemo laxo velutino, calcare recto calycis longitudine, ovariis sericeis.
Root perennial. Stems erect, slender, cjdindrical, about
3 or 4 feet high, but little branched, minutely pubescent.
Leaves the lower ones flat, trifid, with broad cuneiform,
blunt, mucronulate, even, three-lobed segments, an inch
and a half long ; two lateral segments spreading, oblique,
with the posterior lobe more deeply separated, dark green
above, paler and finely pubescent underneath ; upper ones
on short footstalks, tripartite, with linear, acute, perfectly
entire segments ; or frequently undivided. Petioles
slender, simple, almost filiform. Flowers large, showy,
of a blueish purple, disposed in a loose, terminal raceme.
Bractes subulate, pointed, thrice shorter than the pedicels,
and together with them and the calyx finely and
copiously pubescent. Sepals ovate-oblong, 3 outer ones
rather acute, 2 inner ones blunt, and of a more delicate
texture. Spur cylindrical, obtuse, straight, about as long as
the sepals. Petals 4 ; posterior pair dolabriform, notched,
produced at the base into a linear, blunt, convolute, hornlike
process ; anterior pair unguiculate, with the limb
spreading, deeply cloven, and bearded above with yellow
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