6 
THE LADIES’ FLOWER-GARDEN 
is acrid. These seeds are poisonous. The stem is rather slender, in proportion to its height, and widely-spreading 
branches, and the plant has a long tap root, more like that of a perennial than that of an annual. It is said to 
flower in a wild state in June and July; but in gardens it is much later than the dwarf larkspur, and seldom 
comes into flower before August. 
The branching larkspur is generally found in corn-fields, and is a native of Europe, and some parts of America. 
In England, SoWerby tells us, “ it abounds in the open chalky or sandy fields in some parts of Cambridgeshire, 
Suffolk, and Kent.” It was known to the Greeks and Romans, as it is described by Dioscorides and Pliny. In 
England it is mentioned by Tusser, in his list of garden flowers in 1572 ; so that the single kind has been in 
cultivation since the time of Elizabeth. The double kind is first mentioned by Parkinson, who says, “ Of 
larkes’-heeles there are two principall kindes; the wild kinde is of two sorts, one which is with us noursed up 
chiefly in gardens, and is the greatest; the other, which is smaller and lower, often found in our plowed landes, 
and elsewhere. Of the former of these wilde sorts, there are double as well as single; and of the tame, or more 
upright, double also and single, and each of divers colours, as shall be set downe.” The “ wilde sort” is evidently 
D. consolida; and “ the tame, or more upright,” D. Ajacis. The branching larkspur was formerly called Flos 
regius , and Consolida regius; the latter name, which signifies joining or uniting, being given to the plant, as 
some say, from its supposed power of healing wounds ; but, as from its acrid properties, it would be more likely 
to inflame wounds if applied to them than to heal them, the name more probably alludes to the growing together 
of the carpels. The bruised plant is said to be still used as the principal ingredient in some kinds of cosmetics ; 
but it ought to be employed cautiously, as though its acridity may at first clear the skin, it cannot fail, if its use 
be persevered in, to destroy it. 
The French names for this plant, of Daupliinelle, Pied d’Alouette, and Eperon de Chevalier, are evidently 
derived from the shape of the flower; and it is remarkable, that the German, Italian, and Spanish names 
for the plant all signify knight’s spur. 
Culture. —The seeds of the branching larkspur should be sown in the same manner as directed for those of 
the Flos Adonis ; and the young plants should be thinned out in the same manner, the plants drawn out being 
thrown away, as from their tap roots they will not bear transplanting. There should never be more than three 
left in a patch, and they should be as far asunder as possible, as if the plant be not allowed abundance of room, 
it will from its spreading habit become deformed, and one side will be much larger than the other. When the plant 
has attained its full size, it will be necessary, unless the plant should be very strong, to support it by tying it to 
a neatly-painted stake, to keep it upright, and to prevent it from being broken by the wind. The branching 
larkspur should never be sown with the rocket larkspur, as they do not flower at the same time, and their 
different habits of growth do not harmonise. In some situations the single wild kind is very ornamental,, from the 
intense blue of the centre of its flowers, while the violet, or pinkish tinge on the back, gives them somewhat the 
effect of shot silk. Dr. Lindley, speaking of one of the perennial species which resembles this kind in colour, 
says, “ All plants of this description are seen to the greatest advantage on the skirts of shrubberies, or on banks, 
where it is required to produce a wild and rough effect. If it can be so contrived that their flowers are shaded 
during the day, and brightly illuminated by the setting sun, or that they are placed so as to droop over streams 
of water, where the freshness and moisture of the air prevent their rapid fading, a brilliancy of colour is effected 
by masses of them, which we shall in vain attempt to procure in any other way.”— Bot. Reg. 2nd Series, t. 54. 
