TALL LARKSPUR 



Delphinium elongatum Rydberg 



Tall larkspur is found in rich mountain valleys, where it loves to 

 grow among the willow clumps that partially shade the soil about its 

 roots. It is usually from two to four feet in height, and if free from 

 other plants has a striking clump of basal leaves, above which rise the 

 long spikes of rich purplish-blue flowers, swaying in the breezes. The 

 power to fertilize themselves having been lost, cross-pollination is 

 effected by bees and butterflies, whose tongues reach into the deep 

 recesses of the flowers where the nectar is hidden. The name Delphi- 

 nium was given by Linnaeus, from a fancied resemblance of the parts 

 of the flower to a dolphin. 



Tall larkspur has a narrow range, being found only from Colorado 

 to Alberta. 



The specimen drawn was collected on the Clearwater River, fifty 

 miles north of Lake Louise Station, Alberta, at an altitude of 4,500 feet 



PLATE 17 



