Canyon Larkspur

Larkspur (Delphinium) are in the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae), and are easily recognizable by their pointy spurs, formed by fused petal-like sepals.   Like all Ranunculaceae, the leaves are palmately lobed and toothed.

As the name implies, the canyon larkspur grows on steep slopes.  This season I've seen it on highway cutbanks (as in these photos taken near Orr Springs on Orr Springs road), and on steep coastal bluffs.

On my Flickr page, I titled this photo "goldfish in a green sea."  The canyon larkspur, with their characteristic spurs set horizontally on their stems, and growing in patches of hundreds of red flowers, looked just like a school of fish swimming amongst the green grass on the steep grassy slope they grew on.  Or, as Mary Elizabeth Parsons says in her 1921 field guide, "it would require no great stretch of the imagination to fancy these blossoms a company of pert little red-coated elves clambering over the loose, slender stems."  (I think Ms. Parsons was the original bloom-blogger!)

The photos are from May 1, taken near Orr Springs.

Indian Warrior

I see these flowers growing in patches by the side of the road, especially in the Pygmy forest. With sun-bronzed feathery leaves and deep red flowers, these patches are conspicuous mats of color amidst the gravel and grass.

Indan warrior (Pedicularis densiflora) are found all over the western states. They're root parasites (they can link up with other plants' roots to "borrow" nutrients and water) that specialize in shrubs in the heath family (Ericaceae - i.e. huckleberry, salal, manzanita), though they can also survive without using that technique.

As far as classification goes, it seems to be in transition. I'd always thought of these plants as being in the figwort family (Scrophulariaceae). But now the genus Pedicularis (AKA lousewort) has been moved, along with Castilleja (paintbrush), to the broomrape family (Orobanchaceae), a family of fellow root parasites.

The leaves of the plants growing in the shade remain green. The ones below are growing in the shade of huckleberry bushes.

And then there's this: Click here

These photos taken on April 23, on Rd. 409 near Caspar, Ca.