Home Prairie and Wetland Center
16245 S US Hwy 71
Belton, MO 64012
Tel: (816) 331-9738
Fax: (816) 331-9739

Delphinium virescens

Prairie Larkspur

Click here for print friendly version.
Delphinium virescens (Prairie Larkspur)

White to pale lilac flowers bloom along hairy, upright spikes in summer. Fern-like deep green foliage. Naturally occurs in prairies, rocky open woods and savannahs and along railroad rights-of-way.

Additional Information:
Steyermark considered this plant to be a subspecies of Delphinium carolinianum. The correct name is now D. carolinianum ssp virescens. This subspecies has white flowers, whereas D. carolinianum ssp carolinianum has blue flowers. Where the two subspecies overlap in range they integrade. The resulting plants can have light blue flowers. The word, 'larkspur' comes from the flower's resemblance to the spur of a lark's foot.


Height
18-48 Inches

spacer

Spread
12-18 Inches

spacer

Bloom/Seasonal Color
White


USDA Hardiness Zone 4-7

Home Owner Growing and Maintenance Tips:

Good Companions
Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa), Blue Wild Indigo (Baptisia australis)

Characteristics & Attributes

Hydrologic Designation

FAC

Nature Attracting

Hummingbird
Beneficial Insects
Butterfly

Season of Interest

Late (July-frost)
Mid (May-June)

Soil Moisture

Average

Special Uses

Fresh Cut Flower

Sun Exposure

Full Sun

USFS MO Ecological Map

Wildlife Benefit

Butterfly Nectar