Delphinium menziesii subsp. menziesii in flower
Menzies’ larkspur is native to British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon. Habitats include meadows and open woodlands from sea level to 1000m (~3280 ft.).
This photo was taken near sea level, within Hornby Island‘s Grassy Point Community Park. Menzies’ larkspur was just one of several wildflowers in the park; other species included spring gold (Lomatium utriculatum) and field chickweed (Cerastium arvense). Maybe next week I’ll post a wildflower medley from the area.
Delphinium menziesii subsp. menziesii, like many other taxa in coastal western North America and Hawai’i, is named after the Scottish surgeon and naturalist Archibald Menzies.
Photography resource link: Trees in All Seasons, a free downloadable PDF from the Argentinian-born photographer Ursula Abresch (who now resides in British Columbia’s West Kootenays).
I absolutely love the clear and vibrant blue colour of these blooms!
Gorgeous and a very good year for them!
I’d love to see that “medley”
Moya Drummond
Wonderful colours in what’s probably a life-size photo.
Thanks for the link to the Trees in all Seasons page. A lot of the photos are viewable right there.
That lovely blue – not an easy flower to photograph, I know from experience. It would be fun to see a local wildflower medley – you have my vote!
So lovely, my last name is Menzie, thanks for your great research on Archibald Menzies. I have a 14 yr. old, 25′ tall, Arbutus menziesii, in my front yard, it came from the Santa Cruz mountains in Northern CA, it’s a beauty!
Excellent photo capture Ursula! Seeing these beautiful gems en masse on my hikes, in Oregon and Washington where I grew up, brings back wonderful memories.
As Peggy mentioned, the species epithet menziesii refers to Archibald Menzies (1754-1842) a Scottish surgeon, naturalist and botany artist. He traveled to places such as Chile, western North America, New Zealand, Australia, and the Hawaiian Islands where he gathered some 400 species new to science. Menzies identified several native Hawaiian plants on three his voyages to the islands. Some plants were named in behalf of him: Abutilon menziesii, Astelia menziesiana, Bidens menziesii, Bonamia menziesii, Cibotium menziesii, Coprosma menziesii, Cyrtandra menziesii, Dubautia menziesii, Exocarpos menziesii, Schiedea menziesii and Vicia menziesii. In fact, four of these I have growing in my yard here in Hawai’i nei. (see my Flickr Photostream for photos)
My first encounter with the surname Menzies was the Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) named for David Douglas and one of the first botanical names I learned in my high school botany class.
PS Cool story Peggy! Sadly, Archie and his wife were childless. So, I guess no claim to fame here. 🙁
The Delphium pic is mine 😉
I like to highlight other people’s photography from time to time with links, though, hence the link to Ursula’s page.
Oh, sorry Daniel! :p Nice photo!