Consolida

Con-sol'id-da. About 40 species of annuals from s. and e. Europe to cen. Asia, 2 fairly commonly cultivated. They are related to Delphinium, from which they differ in having the 2 upper petals united into 1, and the 2 lower petals lacking.

Description
Leaves narrow and divided. Flowers in showy spikes, with sepals and petals similar in shape, but one bearing a long spur.

How to Grow
Since seedlings are so frost-hardy, sow seeds in raised beds with heavy soil, in fall in areas with mild winters, and in very early spring elsewhere. When plants are 12-18 in. (30-45 cm) high, provide mulch of dried. grass clippings to keep roots cool. Difficult to transplant unless started in peat pots. Especially tall varieties need supports. The species below prefer cool weather.

Consolida ambigua
Rocket Larkspur . 1-2 ft. (30-60 cm) high, with erect branches. Flowers 1 ƈ in. (3 cm) long, violet, rose, pink, blue, or white. S. Europe. Blooms in late spring to summer. Many cultivars are available, some to 5 ft. (1.5 cm) high. All make excellent bedding plants for the back of the garden or against a fence. They are popular cut flowers. Also sold as Delphinium Ajacis . Hardy annual.

Consolida orientalis
Larkspur . Similar to C. ambigua, but with branches more horizontal. N. Africa, s. Europe. Also sold as Delphinium consolida . Hardy annual.

The botanical name for larkspur.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: plants having flowers resembling the larkspur's but differing from larkspur's in the arrangement of petals; sometimes included in genus Delphinium
  Synonym: genus Consolida

Consolida
Consolida ambigua
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Ranunculales Family: Ranunculaceae Genus: Consolida Riv. ex Rupp.
Species
See text.

Consolida is a genus of about 40 species of annual flowering plants in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae, native from western Europe through the Mediterranean region east to central Asia. The common name, shared with the closely related genus Delphinium, is Larkspur.

Consolida differs from Delphinium in the flower structure, with the flowers in an open, loose, often branched spike, rather than the dense column of flowers found in Delphinium, and in the fruit, which comprises a single follicle, instead of a cluster of several together. Also unlike most Delphinium species, all Consolida species are annual.

Species

• Consolida aconiti
• Consolida ajacis (= Consolida ambigua) - Larkspur
• Consolida anthoroidea
• Consolida armeniaca
• Consolida axilliflora
• Consolida cornuta
• Consolida cruciata
• Consolida glandulosa
• Consolida hellespontica
• Consolida hohenackeri
• Consolida lineolata
• Consolida oliveriana
• Consolida olopetala
• Consolida orientalis - Eastern Larkspur
• Consolida persica
• Consolida phrygia
• Consolida raveyi
• Consolida regalis - Forking Larkspur
• Consolida saccata
• Consolida scleroclada
• Consolida staminosa
• Consolida stapfiana
• Consolida stenocarpa
• Consolida sulphurea
• Consolida thirkeana
• Consolida tomentosa

Western variants of the plant are poisonous to cattle, and cattle ranchers are very careful to avoid grazing their cattle near the plant. A common cowboy adage to that effect is that " if you rode the range all day, and were tired of ridin', eat a fistful of larkspur, and you won't be tired anymore."

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)