Larkspur
Delphinium. Crowfoot Family.
Six inches to five feet high. Leaves.--Divided or cut. Flowers.--Blue or purplish; growing in terminal racemes. Calyx.--Of five irregular petal-like sepals; the upper one prolonged into a spur. Corolla.--Of four irregular petals; the upper pair continued backward in long spurs which are enclosed in the spur of the calyx, the lower pair with short claws. Stamens.--Indefinite in number. Pistils.--One to five, forming pods in fruit. In April and May the bright blue clusters of the dwarf larkspur, D. tricorne, are noticeable in parts of the country. Unfortunately they are not found east of Western Pennsylvania.
The tall wand--like purplish racemes of the tall larkspur, D. exaltatum, are found in July in the rich soil of Pennsylvania, and much farther south and west as well.