216 
species is native to Siberia and the plants 
grow about three feet high. 
V. THE TALL EUROPEAN LARKSPUR — 
ELATUM 
The long spikes that we often find among 
the hybrids are generally supposed to be de- 
rived from the tall European larkspur 
(D. elatum), a plant that ordinarily grows 
about five feet high. The earliest good 
picture of it (1756) shows a spike sixteen 
inches long, containing more than forty 
flowers, each five-eighths of an inch across. 
The nurserymen sometimes brag of spikes 
three feet long. The reader must brace 
himself for another shock, for in the “Cy- 
clopedia of American Horticulture” Davis 
says of elatum. “It is probable that all, 
or nearly all, the plants sold here under 
this name should be called D. exaltatum.” 
VI. THE TALL AMERICAN LARKSPUR— 
EXALTATUM 
I do not see how anyone can confuse the 
tall larkspur that grows east of Nebraska 
with the European species. True, they 
both have small flowers in long dense spikes, 
but look at the leaves! The European 
species (elatum) generally has a five-parted 
leaf, while the American (exaltatum) is 
generally three-parted. But it is still more 
TPG I 
significant to compare the width of the 
divisions. The wedge-shaped divisions 
of exaltatum seem highly characteristic. 
The leaf and flower of exaltatum that I 
reproduce are from Philip Miller’s “ Diction- 
ary,” 1760, which shows about twenty-five 
flowers, each five-eighths of an inch across. 
E’en Homer nods, and Nicholson in his 
“Dictionary of Gardening” is clearly mis- 
taken in making elatum a mere synonym 
of exaltatum. For, even if the European 
and American plants should be considered 
the same species, the name elatum must 
be given the preference since it dates from 
1753, while exaltatum was not described 
until 1789. 
We ought to know more about the tall 
American larkspur. I shall be grateful 
to any who will send me plants from the 
wild for my garden. I should like to know 
the merit of this species as compared with 
elatum and particularly whether it is more 
resistent to blight. 
THE RED AND ORANGE LARKSPURS 
There was great excitement in 1855 when 
the scarlet larkspur was introduced and 
again in 1870 when the orange larkspur 
was brought into gardens. Hitherto peren- 
nial larkspurs were confined to blue, purple, 
and their derivatives, including lavender 
GARDEN MAGAZINE 
May, 1908 
and white., The two new species seemed 
to promise every other desirable color, 
for yellow is easily derived from orange. 
Unfortunately these species, though per- 
ennial in California, will not survive northern - 
winters. They can be made to bloom the 
first year by starting seeds indoors in March, 
but if one could get fresh seeds in August 
it would probably be best to sow them then 
and winter the plants in a coldframe. 
Both species have a sort of tuberous 
root and after flowering the plants die down 
to the ground. The dried roots have been 
offered by bulb dealers, but have not given 
uniform success. I have as yet found no 
indication that anyone has succeeded in 
crossing these species with the tall peren- 
nials. 
The cardinal larkspur (D. cardinale) 
is usually considered the better species as 
the flowers open wide (one and one-half 
inches) while those of the orange larkspur 
(D. nudicaule) remain partly closed. They 
are also smaller and in looser clusters. 
These species should be grown in sandy 
soil and it might be well to lift the roots 
after flowering and lay them on or near 
the surface of the ground under a coldframe 
in order to imitate the rainless Californian 
summer. Mr. E. D. Sturtevant says that 
the roots endure great drought and become 
The tall spikes of the larkspurs lend a unique character to the garden 
te 
