Consolida regalisGray - Royal Knight's-spur
Scientific Description:
Plant slender, divaricately branched, up to 40 cm, adpressed-pubescent or glabrescent. Racemes few-flowered, subcorymbose. Leaf laciniae linear, acute. Bracts entire, much shorter than pedicels. Bracteoles alternate, not reaching to the base of the flowers. Flowers 20−35 mm, violet-blue. Spur longer than the posterior sepal. Corolla 3-lobed, lateral lobes rounded. Follicle obovate-oblong, glabrous or rarely adpressed-pubescent, long-rostrate, suberect.
Flowering time: June−August.
subsp. regalis
Flowers 22−35 mm, with sepals 11−15 mm, usually light violet-blue, rather close to each other on the inflorescence; stem usually once or twice branched; follicle usually 2 × longer than broad, glabrous.
subsp. paniculata (Host) Soô
Flowers 20−26 mm, with sepals 9−11 mm, usually dark violet-blue, rather widely scattered on the inflorescence; stem repeatedly branched; follicle usually 3 × longer than broad, glabrous or hairy.
var. paniculata Host.
Follicle glabrous
Reference:
Davis PH (1965). Consolida regalis S.F. Gray, In: Davis PH (ed.), Flora of Turkey and the East Aegean Islands, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 1: 126.
Public Description:
Consolida regalis, commonly known as “royal knight’s-spur”, is native to Europe and southwest Asia. It is an annual herbaceous plant with a length of less than 40 cm, which opens purple-blue flowers in the summer months. Small black seeds contain toxic alkaloids, which are studied by pharmacologists and chemists. However, these toxic substances have been used to treat cancer and to wipe out internal worms. This species is also grown as an ornamental plant.
subsp. regalis
C. regalis subsp. regalis is different than C. regalis subsp. paniculata in having bigger flowers and sepals, light violet-blue petals, 1-2 branched stem, and shorter fruits.
subsp. paniculata (Host) Soô var. paniculata
C. regalis subsp. paniculata var. paniculata is different than C. regalis subsp. regalis in having smaller flowers and sepals, dark violet-blue flowers, much branched stem, and longer fruits.
References:
Anonymous 1 (2016). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consolida_regalis /,Accessed date: 04.05.2016.
Anonymous 2 (2016). http://www.luontoportti.com/suomi/en/kukkakasvit/forking-larkspur / ,Accessed date: 04.05.2016.
Anonymous 3 (2016). https://gobotany.newenglandwild.org/search/?q=consolida /,Accessed date: 04.05.2016.
Ertuğrul K (2012). Consolida (DC.) S.F. Gray, In: Güner, A., Aslan, S., Ekim, T., Vural, M. & Babaç, M.T. (eds.), Türkiye Bitkileri Listesi (Damarlı Bitkiler). Nezahat Gökyiğit Botanik Bahçesi ve Flora Araştırmaları Derneği Yayını. İstanbul, pp. 774−776.