''Delphinium nudicaule'', known by the common names canyon larkspur, red larkspur, orange larkspur, and canyon delphinium, is a flowering

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of t ...

perennial plant A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

in the buttercup family

Ranunculaceae Ranunculaceae (buttercup or crowfoot family; Latin "little frog", from "frog") is a family of over 2,000 known species of flowering plants in 43 genera, distributed worldwide. The largest genera are ''Ranunculus'' (600 species), ''Delphinium' ...

. It is native to low-elevation canyons and slopes, foothills, and mountain ranges of California, US, from the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

to the

California Coast Ranges The Coast Ranges of California span from Del Norte or Humboldt County, California, south to Santa Barbara County. The other three coastal California mountain ranges are the Transverse Ranges, Peninsular Ranges and the Klamath Mountains. P ...

, and of Oregon. It grows below .NPIN: Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Native Plant Database — ''Delphinium nudicaule (Red larkspur)''
. accessed 1.10.2013 The plant sends up thin and long stems with finely dissected leaves. It bears attractive larkspur flowers in shades of red and orange that are generally pollinated by

hummingbird Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the biological family Trochilidae. With about 361 species and 113 genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but the vast majority of the species are found in the tropics aro ...

s.Jepson Flora Project: Jepson eFlora — ''Delphinium nudicaule''
/ref> ''D. nudicaule'' readily hybridizes with several other species of ''Delphinium''.

Uses

The root of ''Delphinium nudicaule'' has been historically used as a medicinal

narcotic The term narcotic (, from ancient Greek ναρκῶ ''narkō'', "to make numb") originally referred medically to any psychoactive compound with numbing or paralyzing properties. In the United States, it has since become associated with opiates ...

, chiefly by the Mendocino Native Americans of the

Yuki tribe The Yuki (also known as Yukiah) are an indigenous people of California, whose traditional territory is around Round Valley, Mendocino County. Today they are enrolled members of the Round Valley Indian Tribes of the Round Valley Reservation. Before ...

. The Concow tribe called the plant sō-ma’ in the

Konkow language The Konkow language, also known as Northwest Maidu (also ''Concow-Maidu'', or ' in the language itself) is a part of the Maiduan language group. It is spoken in California. It is severely endangered, with three remaining elders who learned to s ...

, and sō-ma’ yem (root).

Phytochemistry

The first phytochemical study of this plant was carried out by Michael Benn and Palaniappan Kulanthaivel at the University of Calgary in Canada. These researchers reported the presence of a number of

diterpenoid Diterpenes are a class of chemical compounds composed of four isoprene units, often with the molecular formula C20H32. They are biosynthesized by plants, animals and fungi via the HMG-CoA reductase pathway, with geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate being ...

alkaloids Alkaloids are a class of basic, naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. This group also includes some related compounds with neutral and even weakly acidic properties. Some synthetic compounds of similar st ...

: hetisine, 2-dehydrohetisine, 6-deoxydelcorine, dictyocarpine, dihydrogadesine,

methyllycaconitine Methyllycaconitine (MLA) is a diterpenoid alkaloid found in many species of ''Delphinium'' (larkspurs). In common with many other diterpenoid alkaloids, it is toxic to animals, although the acute toxicity varies with species. Early research was f ...

, lycoctonine, takaosamine, nudicaulamine, nudicauline, and nudicaulidine. The presence of these alkaloids in ''D. nudicaule'' implies that the plant is likely to be quite poisonous. The LD₅₀ for MLA is ~5 mg/kg, i.v., in the mouse, and the LD₅₀ for nudicauline is ~3 mg/kg, i.v., in the mouse.K. E. Panter et al. (2002) ''Biochem. Syst. Ecol.'' 30 113-128.

References

External links

Jepson Manual Treatment: ''Delphinium nudicaule''Univ. of Michigan: Ethnobotany''Delphinium nudicaule'' — U.C. Photo gallery
nudicaule Flora of California Flora of Oregon Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Natural history of the California Coast Ranges Plants used in traditional Native American medicine Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Ranunculales-stub