English: Alpine delphinium; Candle larkspur.
Region: southern and central Europe to Siberia.
Habitat: clearings, woodland margins, river valleys.
Content: C19-norditerpenoid alkaloids, N-formyl-4,19-secopacinine, iminoisodelpheline, iminodelpheline, iminopaciline, 6-dehydroeladine, elpacidine, melpheline.
Use: ornamental, cultivars; insecticide.

BotanyHerb; perennial.
Leaves: green; palmately lobed, 5 to 7 parted near the base.
Inflorescence: spicate flowering stems; erect, terminal, spectacular, central flower spikes, racemes; densely packed with showy blue florets, 25 to 100; central raceme is surrounded by a number of smaller secondary flowering racemes (sidespikes) which develop from leaf joints below the primary bloom; to 15 cm tall.
Flowers: blunt, glabrous, petal-like; blue outer sepal; posterior one is spurred, two pairs of smaller true petals, with the lower two petals being yellow-bearded; flowering from late spring to early summer.