DICOTYLEDONOUS PLANTS 61 



VI. DELPHHTIUM, Larkspur 



Sepals 5, petal-like, the upper one prolonged backwards at 

 the base into a spur. Petals 4) two running into the calyx spur, 

 the others partly covering the pistils and stamens. Flowers in 

 racemes. Fruit of 1-5 many-seeded follicles. Some of the 

 species are poisonous to cattle. The blue Larkspurs are the 

 most common, but they are difficult to distinguish. 



a. D. nudicaule Ton. & Gray. Flowers scarlet, few, on long pedicels. 

 Sepals close together, spur long. Stems almost leafless, except at 

 base, slender and delicate. This grows on moist, shady banks in 

 the Coast Mountains. 



b. D. cardina'le Hook. Flowers bright scarlet with yellow centers, in 

 a rather dense raceme. Stems tall and stout. This grows in the 

 mountains of southern California. 



c. D. Califor'nicum Torr. & Gray. Flowers in dense racemes, bluish 

 gray, woolly on the outside, spur horizontal, equaling the sepals. 

 Stems 2-8 ft. high. Lower leaves 4-7 in. in diameter, deeply cleft, 

 with wedge-shaped divisions. This generally grows on dry hills 

 amid the brush along the coast. 



VH. ACONI'TUM, Aconite, Monkshood 



Sepals 5, petal-like, the upper one like a, hood or helmet. 

 The two upper petals have long claws and spur-like blades 

 concealed within the hood ; the 3 lower are 'much smaller or 

 wanting. Fruit of 3-5 many-seeded follicles. 



A. Columbia'num Nutt. Stems simple, leafy, 25 ft. high. 

 Flowers in a loose raceme. Leaves palmately 3-5 cleft, with wedge- 

 shaped, toothed, or cleft divisions. This is found at higher eleva- 

 tions in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in moist, shady places. In 

 the northern part of the state it is found at much lower altitudes. 



Vm. ACTJE'A, Baneberry 



Perennial from short, branched rootstocks, about a foot or 

 two in height. Leaves 1 or 2, with broad triangular outline, 

 3-5 times compound ; the leaflets ovate, irregularly cut and 

 with the teeth on the margins unequal. Flowers white, small, 

 in a corymb lengthening to a raceme and terminating the stem, 

 blooming in spring. Fruit consisting of red or white berries 

 on spreading pedicels. 



