Delphinium altissimum
Wallich [Cat. 167, n. 4718. 1831, nom. nud.] Pl. Asiat.
Rar. 2: 25, t. 128. 1831; Hook. f. & Thomson in Fl. Brit. India 1: 26. 1872. D. altissimum
subsp. wallichii var. nipalensis Bruehl in Ann. R. Bot. Gard. Calc. 5: 101. 1896.
Perennial herbs; roots elongate, fleshy, branched or simple; stems 1 -
1.5 m high,
few-branched above, terete, glabrous at base, sparsely strigulose above. Leaves scat-
tered; lower petioles longer than upper, up to 30 cm long, slightly sheathed at base;
lamina pentagonal in outline, cordate at base, up to 15 cm across, palmately 5-partite
for up to 1 -
20 cm from base; segments broadly cuneate-obovate, acute, 3-lobed, often
with more short lobes or large coarse broad teeth, subglabrous above, pubescent on
nerves beneath; uppermost leaves trifid. Inflorescence lax with a many-flowered central
dense raceme and some few-flowered lateral branches, strigose with long white hairs,
not glandular-hairy; bracts lanceolate to linear, leafy, 2 -
3 cm long, pubescent; pedicels
1 -
2(-5) cm long, divaricate; bracteoles 2, linear-lanceolate, 4 -
5 x 0.5 rom, placed above
the middle on the pedicel. Sepals deep blue, densely pubescent; upper sepal obovate,
acute, 13 -15 x7- 8 mm; spur 18 - 22 mm long, 3 - 4 mm wide at base, slightly curved;
lateral and lower sepals oblong-obovate, obtuse, ca 15 x 8 -
10 mm. Petals purple to rich
purple, darker than sepals, the upper blades oblong, somewhat oblique, bidentate at
apex, ca 11 mm long; spur subulate, 17 -
18 mm long; lamina of lower petals oblong-ovate,
5 -
6 x 4 -
5 mm, deeply bifid, ciliate; claw ca 7 mm long. Stamens 8 -
9 mm long, glabrous;
anthers rounded-oblong, ca 1 mm long. Follicles 3, cylindrical, divergent, pubescent, ca
12 x 3 mm, with ca 2.5 mm long beak; seeds obovoid, round in cross-section.
Fl. & Fr. July-Sept.
Distrib. India: Old cultivated fields, open slopes and streamsides along edges of forests, 1400 - 2500 m. Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya.
Nepal and Bhutan.
Fl. & Fr. July-Sept.
Distrib. India: Old cultivated fields, open slopes and streamsides along edges of forests, 1400 - 2500 m. Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya.
Nepal and Bhutan.