Stats

Lifespan: Annual
Size: Medium
Diet: Photosynthetic
Biome: Temperate grassland
Range: Eurasia
Movement: Sessile
Breeding: Seeds
Defense: Toxins
Status: Uncommon

About

Doubtful Knight's-Spur is an annual plant native to Eurasia that frequently grows in gardens as an ornamental for its spikes of blue, pink, or white flowers. The plant may reach a meter in height, and its aerial parts and seeds contain diterpenoid alkaloids, including the highly toxic methyllycaconitine.

Life cycle

1.
seed
A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2.
sprout
A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3.
sapling
A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4.
mature
Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Ranunculales
Family: Ranunculaceae
Genus: Delphinium
Species: Delphinium ajacis