In a recent post over at A Lake County Point of View, the County Clerk wrote:
My Delphinium x elatum seedlings are up and ready. Depsite the snow, I'm thinking Delphinium thoughts. It's just a matter of time and the dolphin search can begin again.
Well... the "new latin" moniker for Larkspur - "Delphinium" - comes to us almost unchanged from the Greek.
"from Greek delphinion, larkspur, probably diminutive of delphis, delphin-, dolphin (from the shape of the nectary)."[i]
The dolphin thing supposedly describes the shape of the bud… or so I'm told. I don't see it, and I've been looking for years. But I am assured that there is a dolphin there somewhere!
Now, when I was thinking about this - I was trying to remember what my northern perennial delphiniums looked like in my Michigan garden. Thinking back, I think I made a lame (although fairly well thought out) comment on the County Clerk's site that perhaps it was another member of the dolphin family (I believe I said the pilot whale - because the truncated face of the whale might, if you squint your eyes and use all of your imagination might look like a swollen flower bud of the Delphinium).
But today, as I was attempting to photograph flowers in my garden (for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day) while there were gale-force winds (no, I was not very successful - and if the winds die don't down, I'm tempted to try the approach used by Ellis Hollow - gorgeous!), well I THINK I FOUND THE DOLPHINS! I was photographing my annual larkspur that reseed each year (they are just beginning to bloom) - and, well, what do you think?
My goodness... just look at that.
Magnificent! Definately some kind of Cetacean. Remarkable.
Beautiful.
THANK YOU.
Posted by: The County Clerk | 15 April 2007 at 03:34 PM
I see a whale more than a dolphin. It lacks the pronounced snout of the dolphin. Perhaps because the tail is so short they went with dolphin and maybe other larkspurs have more of the dolphin beak.
Posted by: Christopher C in Hawaii | 15 April 2007 at 06:43 PM
CC and Christopher C: Yes, it's some kind of cetacean I think - and I agree that it might be one of the whales in the dolphin family - such as the pilot whale (when we think 'dolphin' alot of folks automatically think Flipper and bottlenose dolphins (with the pronounced snout) - but there's actually alot of diversity within the family). And then who knows which species was more abundant 'back then'.
Posted by: Pam | 15 April 2007 at 06:50 PM
I don't know much about whales or dolphins, but it looks like something related to them. I hope your winds have died down!
Posted by: Carol | 15 April 2007 at 06:56 PM
My first thought was that they looked like something fishy. My second thought was "bean sprouts". And it's not even lunchtime. :-)
Posted by: entangled | 16 April 2007 at 07:45 AM
Carol: We still have a gale warning posted, and the garden is a mess - everything has just gotten beaten up (it's like a tropical storm blew through).
Entangled: So, delphiniums would have to be called Fabaceae? :) Hope you get lunch soon!
Posted by: Pam | 16 April 2007 at 09:16 AM
What a lovely photo of the 'dolphins'. I've linked to it from our delphinium history page as it definitely adds to the evidence for the source of the name delphinium. Thank you!
Posted by: Janice Dowdeswell | 17 April 2007 at 02:53 PM
Hi Janice - I'm thrilled to be linked to a page on the history of delphiniums! Thanks for stopping by.
Posted by: Pam | 17 April 2007 at 08:49 PM