Consolida

Consolida
Consolida ajacis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Ranunculales
Family: Ranunculaceae
Subfamily: Ranunculoideae
Tribe: Delphinieae
Genus: Consolida
Gray

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[1][2] and it has been treated as a synonym of Delphinium in Kew's Plants of the World Online.[3] 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.[4]

Consolida differs from other species of Delphinium (mostly perennials) in the flower structure, with only one united petal, rather than the four separate petals (or more in cultivars) found in other delphiniums, and in the fruit, which comprises a single follicle, instead of a cluster of 3–5 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.[5] 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:[6][7]

Toxicity

All parts of the plant are toxic to humans, especially the seeds.[citation needed]

References

  1. ^ Jabbour, Florian; Renner, Susanne S. (2011). "Consolida and Aconitella are an annual clade of Delphinium (Ranunculaceae) that diversified in the Mediterranean basin and the Irano-Turanian region". Taxon. 60 (4): 1029–1040. doi:10.1002/tax.604007. ISSN 0040-0262. JSTOR 41317324.
  2. ^ Jabbour, Florian; Renner, Susanne S. (2012-03-01). "A phylogeny of Delphinieae (Ranunculaceae) shows that Aconitum is nested within Delphinium and that Late Miocene transitions to long life cycles in the Himalayas and Southwest China coincide with bursts in diversification". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 62 (3): 928–942. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2011.12.005. ISSN 1055-7903. PMID 22182994.
  3. ^ "Consolida Gray". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  4. ^ Helga George. "Larkspur" entry. Encyclopedia of Cultivated Plants: From Acacia to Zinnia. Volume 2. Christopher Cumo, ed. ABC-CLIO, 2013. p. 551. ISBN 9781598847758
  5. ^ RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants. United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. 2008. p. 1136. ISBN 978-1405332965.
  6. ^ "Consolida". Catalogue of Life - 2020-09-01 Beta : Taxonomic tree. Archived from the original on 2020-10-18. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
  7. ^ "Consolida". The Plant List. Retrieved 2020-09-25.


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