Delphinium hesperium subsp. pallescens

Pale-flowered western larkspur, Pale-Flowered Western Larkspur

Family: Ranunculaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Pale-flowered western larkspur is a California native perennial found in the northern Coast Ranges, Cascade Range foothills, Sacramento Valley, San Francisco Bay Area, and southern Coast Ranges in oak woodland habitats at elevations of 20 to 1,000 meters. Flowering from March to May, this plant produces white to light pink or light blue flowers with sepals 10 to 15 millimeters long and a distinctive curved spur 10 to 17 millimeters in length. Growing with stems that are generally hairy at the base and reaching moderate heights, it forms delicate floral clusters with fewer than 25 flowers. Its lower petal blades measure 4 to 7 millimeters, with pedicels spaced more than 8 millimeters apart. The plant's distinctive spreading sepals and soft-colored flowers make it a notable woodland species.

Habitat: Oak woodland, eastern slope coast ranges

Bloom period: Mar-May

Elevation: 20-1000 m

Bioregions: NCoRI, CaRF, ScV, SnFrB, SCoRI.

California counties: Tehama, Tulare, Fresno, Alameda, Santa Clara, San Benito, Napa, Solano, Merced, Contra Costa, Kern, San Luis Obispo, Colusa, Santa Barbara, Mariposa, Butte, Monterey, Glenn, Lake, Yolo, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Sutter, Shasta, Humboldt, San Joaquin, Mendocino, Marin, San Mateo, Ventura

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