Delphinium ajacis

Delphinium ajacis (Consolida ajacis), commonly known as rocket larkspur or doubtful knight's-spur, is an annual flowering herb of the family Ranunculaceae growing 30-100 cm tall. The slender, branching stems bear alternate, finely dissected leaves divided into many narrow, almost thread-like linear segments, giving the foliage a feathery, fennel-like appearance. From late spring through autumn it produces showy terminal racemes of spurred zygomorphic flowers in shades of deep blue-violet, purple, pink, or white, each bloom 2-3 cm across with a prominent backward-pointing nectar spur. The fruit is a single follicle splitting along one side to release small angular dark seeds. Native to Eurasia and the Mediterranean, it is now widely cultivated as a cottage-garden ornamental and has naturalised across much of North America and other temperate regions. All parts, especially the seeds, contain toxic diterpenoid alkaloids.