Dwarf LarkspurDelphinium tricorne
From Illinois Wildflowers
This herbaceous perennial plant is about ½–1½' tall. It consists of a loose cluster of basal leaves on long stems and a flowering stalk with a few alternate leaves. The basal leaves are up to 4" long and across; they are palmately cleft into about 5 deep lobes, which are in turn divided into 2-3 shallow secondary lobes. The flowering stalk is whitish green or whitish red and it is usually covered with fine white hairs. A raceme of flowers about 3-8" long occurs at the apex of this stalk; each raceme has 6-24 flowers.
Each flower is about ¾–1" across, consisting of 5 petal-like sepals, 4 petals, 3 inner pistils, and stamens. The sepals spread outward from the center of the flower and they are usually some shade of purple or blue-violet; far less often, they are white. The upper sepal forms a long nectar spur behind the rest of the flower; this spur angles upward and it is fairly straight.
