Delphinium recurvatum

Recurved larkspur, Recurved Larkspur

Family: Ranunculaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.2

Recurved larkspur is a rare (CNPS 1B.2) California native perennial found in the San Joaquin Valley, southern Coast Ranges, and western Mojave Desert in grasslands with poorly drained, alkaline soils at elevations of 30 to 600 meters. Flowering from March to June, this plant produces light blue flowers with white lower petals, with sepals generally reflexed, creating a distinctive hanging appearance. Growing 18 to 60 centimeters tall with stems glabrous and base narrower than the root, it develops a firmly attached root system over 15 centimeters long. Its leaves feature 3 to 11 lobes, with basal leaves significantly more prominent than stem leaves. The plant produces small fruits 8 to 21 millimeters long with seeds featuring distinctively wavy-margined coat cells.

Habitat: Poorly drained, fine, alkaline soils in grassland,

Bloom period: Mar-Jun

Elevation: 30-600 m

Bioregions: ScV (extirpated), SnJV, s SCoRI (Caliente Range), w DMoj.

California counties: Fresno, San Luis Obispo, Contra Costa, Kern, Merced, Solano, Kings, Tulare, Glenn, Colusa, Sutter, Madera, San Joaquin, Butte, Monterey, San Benito

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