Delphinium variegatum subsp. variegatum

Family: Ranunculaceae · Type: perennial · Native

variegated larkspur is a California native perennial found in northern coastal, Klamath, North Coast, Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada foothills, Central Valley, San Francisco Bay Area, and southern coastal regions in grasslands and open oak woodlands at elevations of 20 to 800 meters. Flowering from March to May, this plant produces striking dark royal-blue flowers, occasionally white or lavender, with lateral sepals 10 to 25 millimeters long. Growing with upright stems containing fewer than 10 flowers along the main axis, it forms compact clusters of distinctive blossoms. Its lower petal blades measure 4 to 11 millimeters, creating delicate floral structures characteristic of larkspur species. The plant exhibits genetic complexity with chromosome counts of either 16 or 32.

Habitat: Grassland, open oak woodland

Bloom period: Mar-May

Elevation: 20-800 m

Bioregions: NCo, se KR, NCoR, CaR, SNF, GV, SnFrB, SCoR.

California counties: Santa Clara, Stanislaus, Napa, Tulare, Madera, Mariposa, Lake, San Benito, Shasta, Tehama, Colusa, Butte, Contra Costa, Monterey, Nevada, Calaveras, San Mateo, Amador, Merced, Sonoma, Placer, Marin, Yuba, Mendocino, San Luis Obispo, Sutter, Tuolumne, Solano, Humboldt, Glenn, Sacramento, El Dorado, Yolo, Fresno, Siskiyou, Alameda, San Diego, Kern

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