White larkspur flowers
Shakespeare had his take on Hotspur, and on April 8 the Doeskin Ranch in Burnet County had its shot at larkspur, Delphinium carolinianum ssp. virescens. Marshall Enquist explains that there are four small petals in the center of each flower, with the lower two bearing the conspicuous hairs that you see here. The other five segments, including the purple-tinged spur, are sepals.
Wanna go back to what one of these flowers would have looked like in an earlier stage? Here’s your visual time machine:
Afterthought: you’ve had two hairy flowers in a row.
© 2016 Steven Schwartzman
Portraits of Wildflowers 
I’d rather larkspur than Hotspur!
Gallivanta
April 23, 2016 at 6:35 AM
No one will call your comment spurious.
Steve Schwartzman
April 23, 2016 at 6:44 AM
Superb.
Sherry Lynn Felix
April 23, 2016 at 7:20 AM
I don’t normally see much larkspur but have found it in several places recently.
Steve Schwartzman
April 23, 2016 at 7:26 AM
I guess the second photo does look a bit like a tiny hairy dolphin.
Such clarity of the tiny hairs on both!
Dianne
April 23, 2016 at 8:04 AM
Because depth of field is limited in such close views, I aimed to get as many of the little hairs in focus as I could.
It’s good of you to remind us that the word Delphinium comes from the Greek word for dolphin. The things that people imagine…
Steve Schwartzman
April 23, 2016 at 8:22 AM
….two bards with one stone—one human, one divine
weisserwatercolours
April 23, 2016 at 8:18 AM
Oh, what thoughtful wordplay. Well said.
Steve Schwartzman
April 23, 2016 at 8:24 AM
And this one isn’t at all sordid!
melissabluefineart
April 23, 2016 at 8:25 AM
Not sordid at all, though I often enough end up grimy from going to the places and getting into the positions needed for taking pictures.
Steve Schwartzman
April 23, 2016 at 8:35 AM
Sounds like a dirty botanist story 🙂
melissabluefineart
April 23, 2016 at 12:07 PM
Hmm. You may know some things about botanists that I don’t.
Steve Schwartzman
April 23, 2016 at 12:27 PM
Oh, yeah, I’ve got the dirt on them for sure
melissabluefineart
April 27, 2016 at 12:31 AM
I hope you didn’t soil your hands in digging up that dirt.
Steve Schwartzman
April 27, 2016 at 7:44 AM
Mostly just sifting sands.
melissabluefineart
April 27, 2016 at 9:07 AM
Hands sifting, sands shifting.
Steve Schwartzman
April 27, 2016 at 9:13 AM
nice.
melissabluefineart
April 27, 2016 at 9:14 AM
Wow, those are gorgeous!
montucky
April 23, 2016 at 10:30 PM
Do you have any native species of larkspur in Montana?
Steve Schwartzman
April 23, 2016 at 11:22 PM
Yes, Delphinium nuttallianum and Delphinium glaucum.
montucky
April 23, 2016 at 11:24 PM
Then you’re ahead of us by one. Good for you.
Steve Schwartzman
April 23, 2016 at 11:29 PM
Lovely little larkspurs. One question though…are these white larkspur flowers or white larkspur flowers?
Steve Gingold
April 25, 2016 at 6:46 AM
Using grouping symbols the way we do in algebra, I could rephrase your question to ask whether this is a white (larkspur flower) or a (white larkspur) flower. This species comes in a bluish purple color as well (a tinge of which you see on the spur), so this is a white (larkspur flower).
Steve Schwartzman
April 25, 2016 at 8:20 AM
Thought about the group symbols, but that would take the fun out of it. A favorite example:Blueberries or blue berries
Steve Gingold
April 25, 2016 at 11:10 AM
That’s a good one, and more sophisticated fare than in most television comedy series.
Steve Schwartzman
April 25, 2016 at 11:19 AM
Taxi was a good show if one wanted to spend time in front of the TV.
Steve Gingold
April 25, 2016 at 11:24 AM
I’m aware of that show but I never watched it.
Steve Schwartzman
April 25, 2016 at 11:25 AM
Those sticky little dew-tips add yet another layer, both literal and figurative, to the plant’s attractions!
kathryningrid
April 25, 2016 at 2:23 PM
I don’t think I’d ever noticed till then the many little hairs that cover larkspur plants. Fortunately there’s no end to new things.
Steve Schwartzman
April 25, 2016 at 3:24 PM
Not only have we had two hairies in a row, it only required one sally to the ranch to meet them both. (The reference was just too perfect.)
I realized this afternoon that I didn’t have a clue why larkspur carries that name. I imagined that the flower spurred the lark to song, but I found it’s the resemblance to the bird’s foot that provided the name. The bloom is pretty, but your photo of the bud is a knockout. The color and the fuzz are great, but the lines are the best: especially the subtle curves, and that triangle in the center.
shoreacres
April 25, 2016 at 7:32 PM
Hair ye, hair ye, hair ye: I sallied forth to the ranch, and for more than the fourth time.
I, too, was pleased with the second picture, especially because I managed to maintain focus on the outline of the bud and on that slenderly intrusive little leaf.
I’ve known for some time about the origin of larkspur but have still never seen a lark’s foot. I could look online but I’ll let the mystery be.
Steve Schwartzman
April 25, 2016 at 10:23 PM
Is it strange that the “earlier stage shot” made the hairs on my the back of my neck stand up? I don’t know why it gave me such chills.
My Small Surrenders
May 7, 2016 at 7:53 AM
Must be because your body got sympathetic vibrations from the little hairs that outline the larkspur bud, leaf, and stalk. Ah, the power of a photograph.
Steve Schwartzman
May 7, 2016 at 8:05 AM
[…] recent posts, I had visceral reactions to some of the images. One in particular, a photo of a hairy white larkspur flower (Delphinium carolinianum ssp. Penardii) before its petals opened, made the hair on my body stand on end. I can’t remember having that […]
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[…] Last month you saw a mostly white version of this wildflower. […]
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