Consolida
Consolida is a genus of about 40 species of annual flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae, native to western Europe, the Mediterranean and Asia. Phylogenetic studies show that Consolida is actually an annual clade nested within the genus Delphinium and it has been treated as a synonym of Delphinium in Kew's Plants of the World Online. The name of the genus comes from an archaic use of consolidation, meaning "healing", in reference to the plant's medieval use for healing wounds.
Consolida differs from other species of Delphinium in the flower structure, with only one united petal, rather than the four separate petals found in other delphiniums, and in the fruit, which comprises a single follicle, instead of a cluster of three to five together.
It is a popular garden plant and cut flower, grown from seed every year, with numerous cultivars in shades of pink, blue, purple and white. In seed catalogues it is usually labelled as larkspur, a common name referring to the shape of the spurred calyx, with "delphinium" reserved for its perennial relatives.
Species
There are more than 50 species in Consolida:Consolida aconiti Consolida ajacis — rocket larkspur: Europe, Cyprus, TurkeyConsolida anthoroidea Consolida arenaria Consolida armeniaca Consolida aucheri Consolida axilliflora Consolida barbata Consolida brevicornis Consolida camptocarpa — Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, PakistanConsolida coelesyriaca Consolida cornuta Consolida cruciata Consolida deserti-syriaci Consolida flava Consolida glandulosa Consolida gombaultii Consolida hellespontica Consolida hohenackeri Consolida incana Consolida kabuliana Consolida kandaharica Consolida leptocarpa Consolida linarioides Consolida lineolata Consolida lorestanica Consolida mauritanica Consolida oligantha Consolida oliveriana — Iran, Iraq, TurkeyConsolida olopetala Consolida orientalis — eastern larkspur: North Africa, EuropeConsolida persica Consolida phrygia Consolida pubescens — North Africa, EuropeConsolida pusilla Consolida raveyi Consolida regalis — field larkspur: Western Asia, Europe- * C. r. subsp. divaricata
- * C. r. subsp. paniculata
- * C. r. subsp. regalisConsolida rugulosa — Western Asia, Central AsiaConsolida saccata Consolida samia Consolida schlagintweitii Consolida scleroclada Consolida staminosa Consolida stapfiana Consolida stenocarpa Consolida stocksiana Consolida sulphurea — TurkeyConsolida teheranica Consolida tenuissima Consolida thirkeana Consolida tomentosa Consolida trigonelloides Consolida tuntasiana
- ''Consolida uechtritziana''