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Delphinium cardinale
Also called Cardinal Larkspur
Scarlet larkspur is a tall perennial wildflower from California and Baja California, growing to over 2 m with scarlet flowers that hummingbirds pollinate. It grows best in well-drained, open chaparral-like conditions.
Delphinium cardinale is a species of larkspur known by the common names scarlet larkspur and cardinal larkspur. This wildflower is native to California and Baja California, where it grows on coastal, inland, and desert chaparral slopes, such as the Colorado Desert, and the Peninsular and Transverse Ranges. The presence of diterpenoid alkaloids, probably including the highly toxic methyllycaconitine, in above-ground parts of D. cardinale means that they are likely to be toxic if ingested.
Typical habitat is in chert or shale talus at the edge of chaparral or within chaparral gaps. As its red tubular flowers would suggest, it is hummingbird pollinated.
Doubtful knight's-spur · Royal knight's-spur · Garden delphiniums · Candle larkspur · Siberian larkspur · Violet Larkspur · Rocky Mountain larkspur · Larkspur
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Delphinium cardinale by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
