Delphinium andersonii

Anderson's larkspur

Family: Ranunculaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Anderson's larkspur is a California native perennial found in the northeastern Sierra Nevada, Great Basin, and California Ranges in talus and dry sandy sagebrush scrub at elevations of 1,300 to 2,700 meters. Flowering from May to June, this plant produces dark blue flowers with distinctive lateral sepals 9 to 16 millimeters long and an elegant curved spur 11 to 18 millimeters long. Growing 30 to 60 centimeters tall with stems firmly attached to a branched root system more than 10 centimeters deep, it develops an upright, slender form. Its leaves are primarily located on the lower half of the stem, featuring 7 to 30 narrow lobes less than 4 millimeters wide. The fruit is elongated, measuring 17 to 32 millimeters in length and typically more than four times longer than its width.

Habitat: Talus, dry sandy soils in sagebrush scrub

Bloom period: May-Jun

Elevation: 1300-2700 m

Bioregions: CaRH, ne SNH, GB

California counties: Mono, Plumas, Lassen, Los Angeles, Inyo, Siskiyou, Modoc, Alpine, Sierra, Placer, Lake, Tehama, Humboldt, Trinity, Nevada, El Dorado, San Bernardino

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.