Slender stems above mostly basal leaves have spike-like clusters of irregular-shaped blue and white flowers; occasional reduced stem leaves.
Distinguished from other Delphinium by stems that are mostly leafless and flowers with blue sepals and white petals. Flowers have irregular petal-like sepals, a long spur and are along a spike-like stem.
Habitat
Gravelly mesas, hillsides, open desert, juniper woodlands and grasslands, ponderosa pine forests.
Flower Characteristics
Flower spike with 5 to 15 flowers; sepals 5, petal-like, to 1/2 inch long, blue, often with dark blue spots at tips; petals 4 in 2 unequal pairs, white; spur as long as sepals and bronze-tipped.
Leaf and Stem Characteristics
Palmately divided into lobes with rounded tips to 2-1/2 inches wide, sometimes with short hairs.
Fruit and Seed Characteristics
3 sectioned green seed capsule to 1/2 inch. 3 times longer than wide.
Seeds are smooth, brick-shaped, dark brown.