''Delphinium occidentale'', the western larkspur, is a

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' ...

) with purple flowers.Great Basin Wildflowers, Laird R. Blackwell, 2006, Morris Book Publishing LLC., It grows along streambanks and moist areas of the

Great Basin The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic basin, endorheic watersheds, those with no outlets, in North America. It spans nearly all of Nevada, much of Utah, and portions of California, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, and Baja California ...

in Nevada and Utah. There are usually between few and several stems, which can grow up to about . There are

raceme A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...

s of many small flowers at the ends of branches, ranging from dark blue to white. The leaves are large and palmate. The most widespread tall larkspur, it is also very poisonous.

References

occidentale Plants described in 1885 {{Ranunculales-stub