Organ Mountain Larkspur - Delphinium wootonii
Organ Mountain Larkspur
Carbonate Creek
Black Range, New Mexico, USA
July 27, 2015
On July 27, 2015, I was lucky enough to photograph two species of Larkspur in the canyon of Carbonate Creek on the east side of the Black Range. One was the very common Rocky Mountain Larkspur, Delphinium scopulorum, which can be found easily in any mountain drainage in the Black Range at this time of year. The other was Delphinium wootonii, the Organ Mountain Larkspur, which is pictured above and below. You may find this species listed as a subspecies of D. geyeri or D. virescens. It is much less common than the Rocky Mountain Larkspur.
Delphinium wootonii was first described by Per Axel Rydberg in 1900. During his life he was the first describer of about 1700 other plant species, he specialized in the plants of the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains.
The United States range of the Organ Mountain Larkspur, is shown in the map to the right. The light green color indicates that it is native and not rare in the county indicated. In Mexico, it is found in Chihuahua, Coahuila, and Sonora.
This species is known to hybridize with both D. madrense (in the Big Bend region of Texas) and with D. carolinianum subsp. virescens. Note that D. virescens was once considered a full species and the subject plant was considered a subspecies of D. virescens.
The specimen shown below was collected as part of the Mexican Boundary Survey, W. H. Emory, Commissioner. At that time it was described as D. azureurn.
As is typical of many plant species, this one also has a common name, Wooton’s Larkspur, which is derived from the scientific name.
