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Home / Browse / Delphinium / Pinoche Creek Larkspur (subsp. parviflorum)
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Pictured: Delphinium gypsophilum — the species. This subspecies isn’t separately illustrated.
Ranunculaceae family

Pinoche Creek Larkspur (subsp. parviflorum) Delphinium gypsophilum subsp. parviflorum subspecies

Native

Pinoche Creek Larkspur (subsp. parviflorum) is a perennial wildflower native to the lower 48 states.

More about this plant

Delphinium gypsophilum is a species of larkspur known by the common name gypsum-loving larkspur or Panoche Creek larkspur. It is endemic to California, where it grows in low mountains in the central part of the state. This wildflower generally reaches between one half and one meter in height. Its pale whitish-green stem is topped with cylindrical inflorescences of up to 30 flowers on short pedicels. The flowers are pale blue or chalk-white; occasional individuals bear pink or light blue flowers. The spur is one to one and a half centimeters long. Wikipedia →

Growing & care

USDA PLANTS · TRY
Conditions
Sources · Conditions
Cold hardiness (derived) — Hardiness
Hardiness
≥ zone 11 derived from its U.S. range
Size & form
Sources · Size & form
USDA PLANTS — Lifespan
Lifespan
Perennial
In the garden
Herb layer — Sits in the herb of a layered food forest or polyculture.Open guide →
derived roles
Species characteristics from USDA PLANTS (public domain) + TRY (CC BY) — general guidance, not a guarantee for your exact site. Deer "browsing" is documented palatability, not a deer-proof claim.

Wildlife & pollinators

How pollinator value is scored →
❧ Caterpillar hosts ~10 caterpillar species

Delphinium supports ~10 caterpillar species.

Native butterfly & moth caterpillars are the base of the terrestrial food web — most songbirds rear their young almost entirely on them. As a host for native Lepidoptera this is a moderate genus.

Recorded feeding on Delphinium in North America, including:

Asymmetrura matutella Eurois occulta · Great Brocade Euxoa auxiliaris · Army Cutworm Moth Hedya separatana · Pink-Washed Leafroller Heliothis phloxiphaga · Darker-Spotted Straw Moth Mamestra configurata · Bertha Armyworm
+ 8 more species →
Mamestra curialis · Scripted Arches Megalographa biloba · owlet moth Papaipema cataphracta · Burdock Borer Papaipema nebris · Stalk Borer Polychrysia esmeralda · owlet moth Polychrysia moneta · Golden Plusia Polychrysia morigera · owlet moth Pyrrhia umbra · Bordered Sallow
Keystone count (genus-level) from Warren II 2026 (CC0) · Tallamy host-use records. Named species (a documented Nearctic sample, not exhaustive) from NHM HOSTS (CC0).
Species thumbnails re-hosted from iNaturalist — Creative Commons, credited per image (hover for credit). Click any species to see it on iNaturalist. Not exhaustive; many taxa have no openly-licensed photo yet.
Sources for this entry (12) Open & cited
[01] Scientific name & family — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[02] Growth habit & duration — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[03] Native status & distribution — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[04] Common name — USDA PLANTS (via GBIF)
[05] Invasive / introduced status — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503) — native status
[06] Description — Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
[07] Ecological value — Warren II 2026 (CC0) · Tallamy host-use counts
[08] Conservation rank — NatureServe Explorer (CC BY)
[09] Cold hardiness (derived) — Derived from U.S. range × USDA PHZM zones
[10] Caterpillar host count — Warren II 2026 (Dryad, CC0) · Tallamy host-use counts
[11] Caterpillar species — NHM HOSTS (CC0)
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PlantKey’s data is open under CC BY-SA 4.0 — free to reuse and adapt, with attribution and the same licence. Photos keep their own per-image licence + credit (see Sources above).

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