RANUNCULACE^E. XXVIII. DELPHINIUM. XXIX. ACONITUM. 



Provence, Piedmont, and Switzerland. D. hirsutum, Roth. 

 Beitr. 88. D. elatum, All. pedem.no. 1504. D. elatum, var. a, 

 Lam. diet. 2. p. 265. D. intermedium, Lois. not. p. 86. Herb 

 velvety, with down. Flowers blue, pubescent. 



Var. /3, bracteosum (D. C. syst. 1. p. 361.) lower bracteas 

 longer than the flowers ; petals all bearded at the top. I/ . H. 

 Native on the Alps about Barcelonne. A more luxuriant plant 

 than var. a. 



Mountain Larkspur. Fl. June. July. Clt. 1816. PI. 4 to 6 ft. 



50 D. DASYCA'RPUM (Stev. ined. D. C. syst. 1. p. 547.) pe- 

 tioles not dilated at the base ; leaves pubescent, 5-lobed ; lobes 

 lanceolate, somewhat trifid, deeply toothed at the apex ; racemes 

 simple, pubescent ; pedicels thrice as long as the bracteas ; sepals 

 rather villous, twice as long as the petals ; spur straight. Tj. . H. 

 Native of Caucasus about Nartsa. Flowers a little larger than 

 those of D. montanum, of a beautiful blue, with dark brown 

 petals. Capsules pubescent. 



Thick-capsuled Larkspur. Fl. Ju. Jul. Clt. 1819. PI. 4 or 6 ft. 



51 D. CARE'LA (Hamilt. mss. D.Don, prod. fl. nep. p. 195.) 

 petioles not dilated at the base ; leaves 5-lobed, hairy, with 

 deeply-lobed wedge-shaped segments ; bracteas and calyxes 

 pilose; spurs curved, obtuse, length of pedicels ; capsules smooth. 

 I/ . H. Native of Nipaul at Narainhetty. D. scabriflorum, D. 

 Don. in Wern. mem. 3. p. 412. Stem pilose towards the top. 

 Racemes straight, few-flowered. Flowers of a dirty-blue colour. 

 Capsules 3. Carela is the name of the plant in Nipaul. 



Carela Larkspur. Fl. July, Aug. PI. 4 feet. 



52 D. 8PECi6suM (Bieb. fl. taur. cauc. 2. p. 12.) petioles not 

 dilated at the base; leaves pubescent, 5-lobed; lobes deeply 

 serrated ; bracteas lanceolate, villous, clammy ; spur curved ; 

 capsules smooth. I/ . H. Native of Caucasus on Alp Krais- 

 chaur. Deless. icon. sel. 1. t. 62. Flowers blue, with dark- 

 brown petals, the two lower ones bearded with yellow hairs in the 

 disk and white hairs on the margins. 



Shervy Larkspur. Fl. July, Aug. Clt. 1816. PL 2 to 4 feet. 



53 D. FLEXUOSUM (Bieb. fl. taur. cauc. 2. p. 12.) petioles 

 not dilated at the base ; leaves 5-lobed ; lobes cut ; stem flexuous, 

 and is as well as petioles hairy ; bracteas linear ; capsules smooth. 

 l/.H. Native of Caucasus and Iberia. Trev. delp. obs. p. 15. 

 t. 1 and 2. f. a. b. c. and d. D. ciliatum, suppl. enum. hort. 

 dorp. 1811. ex Stev. Stems reddish, and furnished with a few 

 white hairs. Flowers smaller than those of D. speciosum, blue, 

 with dark-brown petals. 



Flexuous-stemmed Larkspur. Fl. July, Aug. Clt. 1817. PI. 

 3 or 4 feet. 



54 D. TRISTE (Fisch. in litt. D. C. syst. 1. p. 362.) petioles 

 not dilated at the base ; leaves 3-5-parted ; lobes narrow, some- 

 what pinnatifid, acute ; upper leaves 3-parted, with entire lobes ; 

 racemes loose ; capsules pubescent. Tj. . H. Native of Dauria 

 and Siberia. D. obscurum, Stev. diss. ined. Flowers dark- 

 brown, suffused with a little red at the edges of the sepals, and 

 with a somewhat violaceous spur, (Fisch.) but according to 

 Steven, they are dark-purple ; they smell somewhat like bugs. 



fed-coloured Larkspur. Fl. July, Sept. Clt. 1819. PL 2 ft. 



SECT. IV. STAPHISA'GRIA (ora^ie, staphis, a bunch of dry 

 raisins ; aypta, agria, wild, in allusion to the dry wrinkled seed 

 bearing some resemblance to a dry raisin.) C. and J. Bauh. 

 D. C. syst. 1. p. 362. prod. 1. p. 56. Ovaries from 3 to 5. 

 Petals free. Spur short, containing the appendages of two petals. 

 Capsules ventricose. Seeds few, large, rather globose. Bien- 

 nials. 



55 D. REUIE V NII (D. C. fl. fr. 5. p. 642. syst. 1. p. 362.) 

 spur almost as long as the calyx ; bracteas inserted on the mid- 

 dle of the pedicels. $ . H. Native of the Stoechades Islands 

 Deless. icon. sel. 1. t. 63. Lower part of herb smooth, or 



scarcely pubescent, upper part hispid with long crowded spread- 

 ing hairs. Leaves on long stalks, lower ones cleft into 5 broad 

 cuneated 3-5-toothed lobes, upper ones divided into 5-linear 

 entire lobes. Flowers blueish, hispid. 



Aden's Larkspur. Fl. June, July. Clt. 1819. PL li foot. 



56 D. PICTUM (Willd. enum. 574.) spur about the length of 

 the calyx ; bracteas inserted at the base of the pedicels ; petioles 

 pubescent ; pedicels hardly longer than the flowers. $ . H. 

 Native of the south of Europe. Sweet, fl. gard. t. 123. D. 

 staphysagria, Woodv. med. bot. t. 154. D. maritimum, Cav. 

 Differing from D. pictum in the leaves being 5-7-cleft, usually 

 variegated with white ; racemes more crowded, and the pedicels 

 longer. Flowers lead-coloured, or variegated with white. The 

 seeds of this plant, as well as the preceding, possess the same 

 medical qualities as D. staphysagria. 



Painted-leaved Larkspur. Fl. Ju.Jul. Clt. 1800. PL 1 to 2 ft. 



57 D. MixiUM (Lois. fl. gen. fr. pt. 2.) spur short, hooked ; 

 bracteas inserted at the base of the pedicels ; flowers large, 

 longer than the pedicels ; leaves sub-5-lobed ; lobes entire. $ . 

 H. Native of Provence. Flowers blue, variegated with white. 



Mixed Larkspur. FL June, July. PL 2 feet. 



58 D. STAPHYSA'GRIA (Lin. spec. 750.) spur very short; 

 bracteoles inserted at the base of the pedicels ; petioles hairy ; 

 pedicels twice as long as flower. $ . H. Native among rubbish 

 in the south of Europe and Teneriffe. Smith fl. graec. 508. 

 Trag. stirp. p. 902. Bauh. hist. 3. p. 641 and 642. f. 1. Cam. 

 epit. 947. A large erect herb. Leaves 5-9-cleft. Flower lax 

 blue, with whitish petals. The seeds are usually brought from 

 Italy. They are large and rough, of an irregular triangular 

 figure, of a blackish colour on the outside and yellowish within ; 

 they have a disagreeable smell, and a very nauseous bitterish- 

 burning taste. A new alkaloid, called Delphmm, is obtained 

 from the seed in the usual manner, either by boiling the decoc- 

 tion with pure magnesia, separating the fluid by filtration, and 

 boiling the residium with alcohol, which lets fall as it cools the 

 alkaloid in white flakes ; or by acting upon the bruised seeds by 

 diluted sulphuric acid, and adding sub-carbonate of potass, which 

 precipitates the alkaloid. Delphinia is soluble in alcohol and 

 ether, sparingly so in water, saturates acids, and is precipitated 

 by alkalies. Its salts rarely form regular crystals, but a hard 

 transparent mass. Stavesacre was employed by the ancients as 

 a cathartic, but it operates with so much violence both upwards 

 and downwards, that its internal use has been for some time 

 almost laid aside. It is chiefly employed in external applications 

 for some kinds of cutaneous eruptions, and for destroying lice 

 and other insects ; insomuch that from this virtue it has received 

 its name in different languages. 



Stavesacre or Lousewort Larkspur. Fl. May, June. Clt. 1596. 

 PI. 2 or 3 feet. 



N.B. D. VERDUE'NSE of Balbis, a native of Gascony, we are 

 not acquainted with. It may probably prove a synonym of one 

 or other of the species above. 



Cult. All the species of Larkspur are very ornamental border 

 flowers, and will grow in any common garden soil. The herba- 

 ceous perennial species are increased by dividing the plants at 

 the roots or by seeds. The biennial and annual species only re- 

 quire to be sown in the open border, where they will flower and 

 seed freely. The perennial species of Delphinium are very apt 

 to mix with each other in the gardens, and on that account very 

 few of the unadulterated species are to be met with in cultiva- 

 tion, most of them being hybrids. 



XXIX. ACONI'TUM (said to be derived from Acma, a 

 town in Bithynia : some species grow plentiful there.) Town. 



