Delphinium densiflorum Duthie ex Huth, Bot. Jahrb. 20: 393. 1895; Mukerjee in Bull. Bot. Surv. India 2: 294. 1961. D. densiflorum var. platycentrum Bruehl in Ann. R. Bot. Gard. Calc. 5: 103, t. 102. 1896.

Perennial herbs; rootstock rhizomatous, subcylindric; stem erect, strict, mostly simple, 30 - 50 cm high, fistulose, leafy throughout, retrorse-strigose, more or less glandular. Lower petioles fleshy, sheathing at base, 5 - 17 cm long, sparsely hairy, upper shorter; leaf-blades reniform to suborbicular, 5 - 10 cm across, mostly 5-partite, hairy; segments cuneate-obovate, trifid above, the lobes or teeth blunt to almost rounded; uppermost leaves becoming bracts. Inflorescence densely racemose, with 1.5 - 5 cm long pedicels adpressed to axis and covered by trifid bracts; bracteoles 2, placed at the middle or slightly above on the pedicels, adpressed, linear-lanceolate, 1 - 2 cm long, villous. Sepals grey-blue to deep blue, white hairy; upper sepal ovate, obtuse, ca 22 x 14 mm; spur subsaccate, 6 - 8 x 6 mm; lateral sepals oblong-elliptic, ca 2 x 1 cm, rounded-obtuse; lower sepals rhombic-ovate, obtuse, asymmetric, ca 22 x 15 mm. Petals black, ca 14 mm long; spur ca 6 mm long; lower petals oblique, oblong-ovate, ca 7 x 4 mm, cleft up to 3 mm, with 8 - 9 mm long claw, bearded. Stamens 8 - 9 mm long, glabrous; anthers ca 2 mm dark. Follicles 3, villous; seeds winged on angles, ca 2 mm, brown.

Fl. & Fr. Aug. - Oct.

Distrib. India: Western Himalayas, 3000 - 5000 m. Uttar Pradesh.

Nepal and China (Tibet).