Larkspur

Larkspur (Delphinium), a showy and popular genus of garden-flowers of the natural order Ranunculaceæ, natives of the temperate and cold regions of the northern hemisphere, and comprising both annual and perennial species. The well-known Rocket Larkspur (D. Ajacis), a native of Switzerland, and the Branching Larkspur (D. consolida), a native of most parts of Europe, doubtfully so of Britain, are familiar examples of the annual species; and Barlow's Larkspur (D. Barlowii) and the Great-flowered Larkspur (D. grandiflorum) are not unfrequent examples of the perennial species; but many more showy varieties have been produced by cultivation and selection which have displaced the older-fashioned species. D. glaciale is one of the most distinctively alpine plants in the world. D. Staphisagria, corrupted to Stavesacre, yields an alkaloid extract from its seeds, named Delphine, which is highly poisonous even in very small doses, acting chiefly on the nervous system.