larkspur

/lahrk"sperr'/, n.

any of several plants belonging to the genera Delphinium and Consolida, of the buttercup family, characterized by the spur-shaped formation of the calyx and petals.

[1570-80; LARK¹ + SPUR]

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or delphinium

Any of about 300 species of herbaceous plants that make up the genus Delphinium in the buttercup family, many of which are grown for their showy flower stalks.

Annual larkspurs (sometimes separated as the genus Consolida) include the common rocket larkspur (D. ajacis, or C. ambigua) and its varieties, up to 2 ft (60 cm) tall, with bright blue, pink, or white flowers on branching stalks. Perennial larkspurs, often with blue flowers, include species that grow to 4.5 ft (1.4 m).

Dwarf larkspur (Delphinium tricorne)

Louise K. Broman from Root Resources

EB Inc.

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▪ plant

 any of about 365 species of herbaceous plants constituting the genus Delphinium of the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae), many of which are grown for their showy flower stalks.

      Annual larkspurs (sometimes separated as the genus Consolida) include the common rocket larkspur (D. ajacis or C. ambigua) and its varieties, up to 60 centimetres (2 feet) tall, with bright blue, pink, or white flowers on branching stalks. Perennial larkspurs, which tend toward blue flowers but vary to pink, white, red, and yellow, include a puzzling assemblage of species, among them D. cashmerianum and D. grandiflorum, from 30 to 100 cm tall, and D. elatum, up to 180 cm tall. Many hybrids have arisen, notably the cultivars ‘Belladonna' and ‘Bellamosa,' which bear large blue to violet flowers on tall branched spires.

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