Humans interact with monarchs when rearing them in captivity, which has become increasingly popular. However,  risks occur in this controversial activity. On one hand, captive rearing has many positive aspects. Monarchs are bred in schools and used for butterfly releases at hospices, memorial events, and weddings. Memorial services for the September 11 attacks include the release of captive-bred monarchs. Monarchs are used in schools and nature centers for educational purposes. Many homeowners raise monarchs in captivity as a hobby and for educational purposes.
On the other hand, this practice becomes problematic when monarchs are "mass-reared". Stories in the Huffington Post in 2015 and Discover magazine in 2016 have summarized the controversy around this issue.
The frequent media reports of monarch declines have encouraged many homeowners to attempt to rear as many monarchs as possible in their homes and then release them to the wild in an effort to "boost the monarch population". Some individuals, such as one in Linn County, Iowa, have reared thousands of monarchs at the same time.
Some monarch scientists do not condone the practice of rearing "large" numbers of monarchs in captivity for release into the wild because of the risks of genetic issues and disease spread. One of the biggest concerns of mass rearing is the potential for spreading the monarch parasite, Ophryocystis elektroscirrha, into the wild. This parasite can rapidly build up in captive monarchs, especially if they are housed together. The spores of the parasite also can quickly contaminate all housing equipment, so that all subsequent monarchs reared in the same containers then become infected. One researcher stated that rearing more than 100 monarchs constitutes "mass rearing" and should not be done.
In addition to the disease risks, researchers believe these captive-reared monarchs are not as fit as wild ones, owing to the unnatural conditions in which they are raised. Homeowners often raise monarchs in plastic or glass containers in their kitchens, basements, porches, etc., and under artificial lighting and controlled temperatures. Such conditions would not mimic what the monarchs are used to in the wild, and may result in adults that are unsuited for the realities of their wild existence. In support of this, a recent study by a citizen scientist found that captive-reared monarchs have a lower migration success rate than wild monarchs do.
A 2019 study shed light on the fitness of captive-reared monarchs, by testing reared and wild monarchs on a tethered flight apparatus that assessed navigational ability. In that study, monarchs that were reared to adulthood in artificial conditions showed a reduction in navigational ability. This happened even with monarchs that were brought into captivity from the wild for a few days. A few captive-reared monarchs did show proper navigation. This study revealed the fragility of monarch development; if the conditions are not suitable, their ability to properly migrate could be impaired. The same study also examined the genetics of a collection of reared monarchs purchased from a butterfly breeder, and found they were dramatically different from wild monarchs, so much so that the lead author described them as "franken-monarchs".
An unpublished study in 2019 compared behavior of captive-reared versus wild monarch larvae. The study showed that reared larvae exhibited more defensive behavior than wild larvae. The reason for this is unknown, but it could relate to the fact that reared larvae are frequently handled and/or disturbed.


In February 2015, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reported a study that showed that nearly a billion monarchs had vanished from the butterfly's overwintering sites since 1990. The agency attributed the monarch's decline in part to a loss of milkweed caused by herbicides that farmers and homeowners had used.


Based on a 2014 20-year comparison, the overwintering numbers west of the Rocky Mountains have dropped more than 50% since 1997 and the overwintering numbers east of the Rockies have declined by more than 90% since 1995. According to the Xerces Society, the monarch population in California decreased 86% in 2018, going from millions of butterflies to tens of thousands of butterflies.
The society's annual 2020-2021 winter count showed a significant decline in the California population. One Pacific Grove site did not have a single monarch butterfly. A primary explanation for this was the destruction of the butterfly's milkweed habitats. This particular population is believed to comprise less than 2000 individuals, as of 2022.


A 2016 publication attributed the previous decade's 90% decline in overwintering numbers of the eastern monarch population to the loss of breeding habitat and milkweed. The publication's authors stated that an 11%–57% probability existed that this population will go almost extinct over the next 20 years.
Chip Taylor, the director of Monarch Watch at the University of Kansas, has stated that the Midwest milkweed habitat "is virtually gone" with 120–150 million acres lost. To help fight this problem, Monarch Watch encourages the planting of "Monarch Waystations".


Eastern and midwestern monarchs are apparently experiencing problems reaching Mexico. A number of monarch researchers have cited recent evidence obtained from long-term citizen science data that show that the number of breeding (adult) monarchs has not declined in the last two decades.
The lack of long-term declines in the numbers of breeding and migratory monarchs, yet the clear declines in overwintering numbers, suggests a growing disconnect exists between these life stages. One researcher has suggested that mortality from car strikes constitutes an increasing threat to migrating monarchs. A study of road mortality in northern Mexico, published in 2019, showed very high mortality from just two "hotspots" each year, amounting to 200,000 monarchs killed.


The area of Mexican forest to which eastern and midwestern monarchs migrate reached its lowest level in two decades in 2013. The decline was expected to increase during the 2013–2014 season. Mexican environmental authorities continue to monitor illegal logging of the oyamel trees. The oyamel is a major species of evergreen on which the overwintering butterflies spend a significant time during their winter diapause, or suspended development.
A 2014 study acknowledged that while "the protection of overwintering habitat has no doubt gone a long way towards conserving monarchs that breed throughout eastern North America", their research indicates that habitat loss on breeding grounds in the United States is the main cause of both recent and projected population declines.


Parasites include the tachinid flies Sturmia convergens and Lespesia archippivora. Lesperia-parasitized butterfly larvae suspend, but die prior to pupation. The fly's maggot lowers itself to the ground, forms a brown puparium and then emerges as an adult.
Pteromalid wasps, specifically Pteromalus cassotis, parasitize monarch pupae. These wasps lay their eggs in the pupae while the chrysalis is still soft. Up to 400 adults emerge from the chrysalis after 14–20 days, killing the monarch.
The bacterium Micrococcus flacidifex danai also infects larvae. Just before pupation, the larvae migrate to a horizontal surface and die a few hours later, attached only by one pair of prolegs, with the thorax and abdomen hanging limp. The body turns black shortly thereafter. The bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa has no invasive powers, but causes secondary infections in weakened insects. It is a common cause of death in laboratory-reared insects.
Ophryocystis elektroscirrha is another parasite of the monarch. It infects the subcutaneous tissues and propagates by spores formed during the pupal stage. The spores are found over all of the body of infected butterflies, with the greatest number on the abdomen. These spores are passed, from female to caterpillar, when spores rub off during egg laying and are then ingested by caterpillars. Severely infected individuals are weak, unable to expand their wings, or unable to eclose, and have shortened lifespans, but parasite levels vary in populations. This is not the case in laboratory rearing, where after a few generations, all individuals can be infected.
Infection with O. elektroscirrha creates an effect known as culling, whereby migrating monarchs that are infected are less likely to complete the migration. This results in overwintering populations with lower parasite loads. Owners of commercial butterfly-breeding operations claim that they take steps to control this parasite in their practices, although this claim is doubted by many scientists who study monarchs.


The black swallow-wort (Cynanchum louiseae) and pale swallow-wort (Cynanchum rossicum) plants are problematic for monarchs in North America. Monarchs lay their eggs on these relatives of native vining milkweed (Cynanchum laeve) because they produce stimuli similar to milkweed. Once the eggs hatch, the caterpillars are poisoned by the toxicity of this invasive plant from Europe.


Climate variations during the fall and summer affect butterfly reproduction. Rainfall and freezing temperatures affect milkweed growth. Omar Vidal, director general of WWF-Mexico, said, "The monarch's lifecycle depends on the climatic conditions in the places where they breed. Eggs, larvae, and pupae develop more quickly in milder conditions. Temperatures above 35 °C (95 °F) can be lethal for larvae, and eggs dry out in hot, arid conditions, causing a drastic decrease in hatch rate." If a monarch's body temperatures is below 30 °C (86 °F), a monarch cannot fly. To warm up, they sit in the sun or rapidly shiver their wings to warm themselves.
Climate change may dramatically affect the monarch migration. A study from 2015 examined the impact of warming temperatures on the breeding range of the monarch, and showed that in the next 50 years the monarch host plant will expand its range further north into Canada, and that the monarchs will follow this. While this will expand the breeding locations of the monarch, it will also have the effect of increasing the distance that monarchs must travel to reach their overwintering destination in Mexico, which could result in greater mortality during the migration.
Milkweeds grown at increased temperatures have been shown to contain higher cardenolide concentrations, making the leaves too toxic for the monarch caterpillars. However, these increased concentrations are likely in response to increased insect herbivory, which is also caused by the increased temperatures. Whether increased temperatures make milkweed too toxic for monarch caterpillars when other factors are not present is unknown. Additionally, milkweed grown at carbon dioxide levels of 760 parts per million was found to produce a different mix of the toxic cardenolides, one of which was less effective against monarch parasites.


On July 20, 2022, the International Union for Conservation of Nature added the migratory monarch butterfly (the subspecies common in North America) to its red list of endangered species.
The monarch butterfly is not currently listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora or protected specifically under U.S. domestic laws.
On August 14, 2014, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Center for Food Safety filed a legal petition requesting Endangered Species Act protection for the monarch and its habitat, based largely on the long-term trends observed at overwintering sites. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) initiated a status review of the monarch butterfly under the Endangered Species Act with a due date for information submission of March 3, 2015, later extended to 2020. On December 15, 2020, the FWS ruled that adding the butterfly to the list of threatened and endangered species was "warranted-but-precluded" because it needed to devote its resources to 161 higher-priority species.
The number of monarchs overwintering in Mexico has shown a long-term downward trend. Since 1995, coverage numbers have been as high as 18 hectares (44 acres) during the winter of 1996–1997, but on average about 6 hectares (15 acres). Coverage declined to its lowest point to date (0.67 hectares (1.66 acres)) during the winter of 2013–2014, but rebounded to 4.01 hectares (10 acres) in 2015–2016. The average population of monarchs in 2016 was estimated at 200 million. Historically, on average there are 300 million monarchs. The 2016 increase was attributed to favorable breeding conditions in the summer of 2015. However, coverage declined by 27% to 2.91 hectares (7.19 acres) during the winter of 2016–2017. Some believe this was because of a storm that had occurred during March 2016 in the monarchs' previous overwintering season, though this seems unlikely since most current research shows that the overwintering colony sizes do not predict the size of the next summer breeding population.
In Ontario, Canada, the monarch butterfly is listed as a species of special concern. In fall 2016, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada proposed that the monarch be listed as endangered in Canada, as opposed to its current listing as a "species of concern" in that country. This move, once enacted, would protect critical monarch habitat in Canada, such as major fall accumulation areas in southern Ontario, but it would also have implications for citizen scientists who work with monarchs, and for classroom activities. If the monarch were federally protected in Canada, these activities could be limited, or require federal permits.
In Nova Scotia, the monarch is listed as endangered at the provincial level, as of 2017. This decision (as well as the Ontario decision) apparently is based on a presumption that the overwintering colony declines in Mexico create declines in the breeding range in Canada. Two recent studies have been conducted examining long-term trends in monarch abundance in Canada, using either butterfly atlas records or citizen science butterfly surveys, and neither shows evidence of a population decline in Canada.


Although numbers of breeding monarchs in eastern North America have apparently not decreased, reports of declining numbers of overwintering butterflies have inspired efforts to conserve the species.


On June 20, 2014, President Barack Obama issued a presidential memorandum entitled "Creating a Federal Strategy to Promote the Health of Honey Bees and Other Pollinators". The memorandum established a Pollinator Health Task Force, to be co-chaired by the Secretary of Agriculture and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and stated:
The number of migrating Monarch butterflies sank to the lowest recorded population level in 2013–14, and there is an imminent risk of failed migration.

In May 2015, the Pollinator Health Task Force issued a "National Strategy to Promote the Health of Honey Bees and Other Pollinators". The strategy laid out federal actions to achieve three goals, two of which were:
• Monarch Butterflies: Increase the Eastern population of the monarch butterfly to 225 million butterflies occupying an area of approximately 15 acres (6 hectares) in the overwintering grounds in Mexico, through domestic/international actions and public-private partnerships, by 2020.
• Pollinator Habitat Acreage: Restore or enhance 7 million acres of land for pollinators over the next 5 years through Federal actions and public/private partnerships.
Many of the priority projects that the national strategy identified focused on the I-35 corridor, which extends for 1,500 miles (2,400 km) from Texas to Minnesota. The area through which that highway travels provides spring and summer breeding habitats in the United States' key monarch migration corridor.
The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) publishes sets of landscape performance requirements in its P100 documents, which mandate standards for the GSA's Public Buildings Service. Beginning in March 2015, those performance requirements and their updates have included four primary aspects for planting designs that are intended to provide adequate on-site foraging opportunities for targeted pollinators. The targeted pollinators include bees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects.
On December 4, 2015, President Obama signed into law the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act (Pub. L. 114-94). The FAST Act placed a new emphasis on efforts to support pollinators. To accomplish this, the FAST Act amended Title 23 (Highways) of the United States Code.  The amendment directed the United States Secretary of Transportation, when carrying out programs under that title in conjunction with willing states, to:
(1) encourage integrated vegetation management practices on roadsides and other transportation rights-of-way, including reduced mowing; and
(2) encourage the development of habitat and forage for Monarch butterflies, other native pollinators, and honey bees through plantings of native forbs and grasses, including noninvasive, native milkweed species that can serve as migratory way stations for butterflies and facilitate migrations of other pollinators.
The FAST Act also stated that activities to establish and improve pollinator habitat, forage, and migratory way stations may be eligible for Federal funding if related to transportation projects funded under Title 23.
The United States Department of Agriculture's Farm Service Agency helps increase U.S. populations of monarch butterfly and other pollinators through its Conservation Reserve Program's State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement (SAFE) Initiative. The SAFE Initiative provides an annual rental payment to farmers who agree to remove environmentally sensitive land from agricultural production and who plant species that will improve environmental health and quality. Among other things, the initiative encourages landowners to establish wetlands, grasses, and trees to create habitats for species that the FWS has designated to be threatened or endangered.


In 2020, the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCRHP) of the Transportation Research Board issued a 208-page report that described a project that had examined the potential for roadway corridors to provide habitat for monarch butterflies. A part of the project developed tools for roadside managers to optimize potential habitat for monarch butterflies in their road rights-of-way.
Such efforts are controversial because the risk of butterfly mortality near roads is high. Several studies have shown that motor vehicles kill millions of monarchs and other butterflies every year. Also, some evidence indicates that monarch larvae living near roads experience physiological stress conditions, as evidenced by elevations in their heart rate.

The NCRHP report acknowledged that, among other hazards, roads present a danger of traffic collisions for monarchs, stating that these effects appear to be more concentrated in particular funnel areas during migration. Nevertheless, the report concluded:
In summary, threats along roadway corridors exist for monarchs and other pollinators, but in the context of the amount of habitat needed for recovery of sustainable populations, roadsides are of vital importance.


While scientific studies on the subject have been reported, the practice of butterfly gardening and creating "monarch waystations" is commonly thought to increase the populations of butterflies. Efforts to restore falling monarch populations by establishing butterfly gardens and monarch waystations require particular attention to the butterfly's food preferences and population cycles, as well to the conditions needed to propagate and maintain milkweed.
For example, in the Washington, DC, area and elsewhere in the northeastern United States, monarchs prefer to reproduce on common milkweed (A. syriaca), especially when its foliage is soft and fresh. Because monarch reproduction in that area peaks in late summer when milkweed foliage is old and tough, A. syriaca needs to be mowed or cut back in June through August to assure that it will be regrowing rapidly when monarch reproduction reaches its peak. Similar conditions exist for showy milkweed (A. speciosa) in Michigan and for green antelopehorn milkweed (A. viridis), where it grows in the Southern Great Plains and the Western United States. In addition, the seeds of A. syriaca and some other milkweeds need periods of cold treatment (cold stratification) before they will germinate.
To protect seeds from washing away during heavy rains and from seed–eating birds, one can cover the seeds with a light fabric or with an 0.5-inch (13 mm) layer of straw mulch.  However, mulch acts as an insulator. Thicker layers of mulch can prevent seeds from germinating if they prevent soil temperatures from rising enough when winter ends. Further, few seedlings can push through a thick layer of mulch.
Although monarch caterpillars will feed on butterfly weed (A. tuberosa) in butterfly gardens, the plant has rough leaves and is typically not a heavily used host plant for the species. The plant's low levels of cardenolides may also make the plant unattractive to egg-laying monarchs. While A. tuberosa's colorful flowers provide nectar for many adult butterflies, the plant may be less suitable for use in butterfly gardens and monarch waystations than are other milkweed species.
Breeding monarchs prefer to lay eggs on swamp milkweed (A. incarnata). However, A. incarnata is an early successional plant that usually grows at the margins of wetlands and in seasonally flooded areas. The plant is slow to spread via seeds, does not spread by runners and tends to disappear as vegetative densities increase and habitats dry out. Although A. incarnata plants can survive for up to 20 years, most live only two-five years in gardens. The species is not shade-tolerant and is not a good vegetative competitor.


Danthonia spicata is a species of grass known by the common name poverty oatgrass, or simply poverty grass. It is native to North America, where it is widespread and common in many areas. The species is distributed across much of Canada and the United States, and its distribution extends into northern Mexico.
This perennial bunchgrass is variable in appearance. It has no rhizomes or stolons. It grows anywhere from 7 to 100 cm (2.8 to 39 in) tall. The grass takes the form of a crowded tuft of leaves at ground level. The leaves often become curly and persist as they dry out. Plants in shady and moist areas may not have curly leaves. The inflorescence is a narrow panicle of up to 18 spikelets. The spikelets have twisted, hairy awns. There are also some unopening, cleistogamous florets next to the leaves, and in the panicles. There is a long-lasting soil seed bank, with the seeds persisting for decades before being stimulated to germinate.
This grass grows in many types of habitat, and it occurs in a variety of forest and grassland ecosystems. It grows easily on poor, dry, rocky soils, for which it owes its common name. When a habitat is disturbed, after a wildfire, for example, the seeds long-buried in the soil are stimulated and germinate, making the plant a pioneer species that colonizes recently cleared land. It then becomes less common as other plant species begin to move in. It is a common member of the plant community in some ecosystems that are maintained by a regime of frequent fires, such as jack pine (Pinus banksiana) barrens.


Darlingtonia californica /dɑːrlɪŋˈtoʊniə kælɪˈfɔːrnɪkə/, also called the California pitcher plant, cobra lily, or cobra plant, is a species of carnivorous plant. It is the sole member of the genus Darlingtonia in the family Sarraceniaceae. This pitcher plant is native to Northern California and Oregon, US, growing in bogs and seeps with cold running water. This plant is designated as uncommon due to its rarity in the field.
The name "cobra lily" stems from the resemblance of its tubular leaves to a rearing cobra, complete with a forked leaf – ranging from yellow to purplish-green – that resemble fangs or a serpent's tongue.
The plant was discovered in 1841 by the botanist William D. Brackenridge at Mount Shasta. In 1853 it was described by John Torrey, who named the genus Darlingtonia after the Philadelphian botanist William Darlington (1782–1863).
In cultivation in the UK this plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.


Because many carnivorous species live in hostile environments, their root systems are commonly as highly modified as their leaves. Darlingtonia californica is no exception. The cobra lily has a very large and rambling root system when compared to those of other carnivorous plants in the family Sarraceniaceae.  The cobra lily is able to survive fire by regenerating from its roots, but despite this important role the roots are very delicate organs. While the temperatures in much of the species's range can exceed 25 °C (77 °F), their roots die back after exposure to temperatures not much higher than 10 °C (50 °F) . Temperature plays a large part in the functioning of all plants, but it is very rare for individual organs to have such different temperature tolerances. The physiological mechanisms and evolutionary benefits of this discrepancy are not fully understood, however, in habitat the plants are normally found growing out of cold seeps, and this behavior would cause the plant to only expend energy growing roots in the direction of cold subsurface water sources.  The reason for this extraordinary sensitivity of the roots to high temperatures is currently believed to be caused by a very low and limited optimal temperature of the ion pumps in root cells
Modern cultivation efforts in breeding and selecting plants that can withstand higher temperatures without the roots dying back have met with significant success.  As a result, there are several cultivars available as commercial house or garden plants which are more tolerant of higher temperatures.


The cobra lily is unique among the three genera of American pitcher plants. It does not trap rainwater in its pitcher. Instead, it regulates the level of water inside physiologically by releasing or absorbing water into the trap that has been pumped up from the roots. It was once believed that this variety of pitcher plant did not produce any digestive enzymes and relied on symbiotic bacteria and protozoa to break down the captured insects into easily absorbed nutrients. Recent studies have indicated that Darlingtonia secretes at least one proteolytic enzyme that digests captured prey. The cells that absorb nutrients from the inside of the pitcher are the same as those on the roots that absorb soil nutrients. The efficiency of the plant's trapping ability is attested to by its leaves and pitchers, which are, more often than not, full of insects and their remains.
In addition to the use of lubricating secretions and downward-pointing hairs common to all North American pitcher plants to force their prey into the trap, this species carefully hides the tiny exit hole from trapped insects by curling it underneath and offering multiple translucent false exits. Upon trying many times to leave via the false exits, the insect will tire and fall down into the trap. The slippery walls and hairs prevent the trapped prey from escaping. The only other species that utilizes this technique is the parrot pitcher plant, Sarracenia psittacina. Despite this, the hooded pitcher plant, Sarracenia minor also shares similar trapping techniques, albeit with a few differences in structure and purpose. For the hooded pitcher plant, the only difference is that the exit hole of the pitcher is not curled underneath as the cobra's is, but rather a leaf is folded over close to the top of entrance.  The pitcher hangs upside-down to form a shape more reminiscent of a tobacco pipe rather than a cobra, which is why it is sometimes called the California Dutchman's-pipe instead. A misconception about Darlingtonia is that its forked tongue is assumed to be an adaption to trap insects, However a study done by American Journal of Botany found out that when you remove the tongue the prey biomass remains unchanged.


A remaining mystery surrounding the cobra lily is its means of pollination. Its flower is unusually shaped and complex, typically a sign of a close pollinator-plant specialization. The flower is yellowish purple in color and grows on a stalk which is slightly taller than the pitcher leaves. It has five sepals, green in color, which are longer than the red-veined petals. It is generally expected that the pollinator is either a fly or bee attracted to the flower's unpleasant smell or some nocturnal insect.
A new study suggests that it may be melittophilous after observing a miner bee species (Andrena nigrihirta). Pollinating by hand yielded poor results, therefore, melittophilous seems likely considering the complexity of the fruit. According to the study, "Observations of A. nigrihirta on flowers revealed that the shape and orientation of D. californica's ovary and petals promote stigma contact both when pollinators enter and exit a flower, contrary to previous thought. Our findings provide evidence that D. californica is melittophilous". Furthermore, Darlingtonia was pollen-limited in all five plants observed. However, in the case of male absence, Darlingtonia was still able to reproduce suggesting that self pollination may play a role as well. It seems likely that both occur and only bolsters the reputation of hardiness in the wild.


Two infraspecific taxa are recognized:
D. californica f. californica (autonym)
D. californica f. viridiflora B.Rice


Darlingtonia californica can be one of the most difficult carnivorous plants to keep in cultivation, as they require exacting environmental conditions. They prefer cool to warm day-time temperatures and cold or cool night-time temperatures. Cobra lilies typically grow in bogs or streambanks that are fed by cold mountain water, and grow best when the roots are kept cooler than the rest of the plant. It is best to mimic these conditions in cultivation, and water the plants with cold, purified water. On hot days, it helps to place ice cubes of purified water on the soil surface. They prefer sunny conditions if in a humid, warm location, and prefer part-shade if humidity is low or fluctuates often. Plants can adapt to low humidity conditions, but optimum growth occurs under reasonable humidity.
Growing cobra lilies from seed is extremely slow and cobra seedlings are difficult to maintain, so these plants are best propagated from the long stolons they grow in late winter and spring. When a minute cobra plant is visible at the end of the stolon (usually in mid to late spring), the whole stolon may be cut into sections a few inches long, each with a few roots attached. Lay these upon cool, moist, shredded long-fibered sphagnum moss and place in a humid location with bright light. In many weeks, cobra plants will protrude from each section of stolon.
Like many other carnivorous plants of temperate regions, cobra lilies require a cold winter dormancy in order to live long-term. Plants die down to their rhizomes in frigid winters and will maintain their leaves in cool winters during their dormancy period. This period lasts from 3 to 5 months during the year, and all growth stops. As spring approaches, mature plants may send up a single, nodding flower, and a few weeks later the plant will send up a few large pitchers. The plant will continue to produce pitchers throughout the summer, however much smaller than the early spring pitchers.
Many carnivorous plant enthusiasts have succeeded in cultivating these plants, and have developed or discovered three color morphs: all green, all red, and red-green bicolor.
Wild-type plants are all green in moderate light and bicolor in intense sunlight.


Darmera peltata, the Indian rhubarb or umbrella plant, is a flowering plant, the only species within the genus Darmera in the family Saxifragaceae. It is a slowly spreading rhizomatous perennial native to mountain streamsides in woodland in the western United States (southwestern Oregon to northwestern California), growing to 2 m (6 ft 7 in) tall by 1 m (3 ft 3 in) wide. The name Darmera honours Karl Darmer, a 19th-century German horticulturist.
In late spring the flowers emerge before the leaves, with rounded cymes of numerous five-petalled white to bright pink flowers (measuring up to 1.5 cm across each) borne on flower stems up to 2m long.  The leaves are peltate, rounded, deeply lobed, coarsely toothed, conspicuously veined and dark green, also on stems up to 2m in height.  The leaves turn red in autumn.
In gardens, Darmera peltata flourishes in pond margins and bog gardens, where it forms an imposing umbrella-like clump.  It is suited to smaller gardens where there is no room for Gunnera manicata or Gunnera tinctoria, distantly related plants that are somewhat similar in appearance, but much larger.
Darmera peltata has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.


Dasypodia cymatodes, the northern old lady moth or northern wattle moth, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Achille Guenée in 1852. It is found in Australia (Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria), and is self introduced in New Zealand.
The wingspan is about 80 mm.
The larvae feed on Acacia species.


Datura discolor, also called the desert thorn-apple, is an herbaceous annual plant native to the Sonoran Desert of western North America, where it grows in sandy soils and washes. All parts of the plant contain a mix of alkaloids that are potentially lethal when enough is ingested. Deaths from careless recreational use of Datura and related plants are frequently reported.


The species was first described in 1833. The specific epithet discolor, meaning "various colors," refers to its upward-growing trumpet-shaped flowers, which are white in the bell, and pale to dark violet from the narrow part of the bell to the base. The plant itself is an upright or low-lying shrub that can grow to 4.5 feet (1.4 m) tall. Its foliage is light green, and its stalks have conspicuous purple stripes. The ovate-shaped leaves can be whole or toothed.
Datura discolor has large flowers, which makes it attractive for garden cultivation. The flowers open for only one night and wither the following day. Its seed capsule is thorny like most other Daturas, and can be up to 3 in (76 mm) long and 2.5 in (64 mm) in diameter. The species' natural distribution area stretches from Mexico to the Southwestern U.S., and the Caribbean Islands. It is a sun-loving plant which does well underneath overhanging eaves that can protect its flowers from damage by rainfall.


Datura innoxia is a tuberous-rooted, subshrub that typically reaches a height of 0.6 to 1.5 metres. Its stems and leaves are covered with short and soft grayish hairs, giving the whole plant a grayish appearance. It has elliptic smooth-edged leaves with pinnate venation. All parts of the plant emit a foul odor similar to rancid peanut butter when crushed or bruised, although most people find the fragrance of the flowers to be quite pleasant when they bloom at night.
The flowers are white, trumpet-shaped, 12–19 cm (4.5–7.5 in) long. They first grow upright, and later incline downward. It flowers from early summer until late fall.
The fruit is an egg-shaped spiny capsule, about 5 cm in diameter. Like those of other species belonging to section Dutra of the genus Datura, it splits open irregularly when ripe to disperse its seeds. Another means of dispersal may also occur, in which the spiny fruit becomes entangled in the fur of animals, who then carry the fruit far from the mother plant. The seeds are long-lived, having the ability to lie dormant in the soil for many years. The seeds and indeed the whole plant, have strongly deliriant properties and a high potential for overdose, the slow appearance of the effects leading to the erroneous belief that the dose taken has been ineffective.


Datura innoxia is quite similar to D. metel, to the point of being confused with it in early scientific literature.  D. metel is a closely related plant, believed until recently to be of Old World provenance (though now thought to have been brought to Asia from the Antilles no earlier than the sixteenth century) and misconstrued as being referred to in the works of Avicenna in eleventh century Persia. D. stramonium differs in having much smaller flowers, seed capsules dehisceing by four distinct valves, and dentate leaves, while the more closely related D. wrightii differs in having wider, 5-toothed (instead of 10-toothed) flowers which are usually pinkish-violet rather than white. D. innoxia differs from D. stramonium, D. metel & D. fastuosa in having about 7 to 10 secondary veins on either side of the midrib of the leaf which anastomose by arches at about 1 to 3 mm. from the margin. No anastomosis of the secondary veins are seen in the other 4 major species of Datura.


The currently-accepted botanical name for this plant is Datura innoxia, in spite of the fact that many references spell it Datura inoxia. According to Tropicos, a widely accepted authority on botanical names, the inoxia form is due to an error originally made by 18th century taxonomist Philip Miller, and since corrected.
Miller wrote that the "not noxious" name refers to the soft spines on the fruit, which are in contrast to the sharp spines on other Datura species. (Miller refers to the ... "oval fruit, covered with long, soft, innocent spines" ...).


When cultivated, the plant is usually treated as an annual to be grown from seed, but its tuberous roots (somewhat reminiscent of those of the cultivated Dahlia) can be kept from freezing and planted in the spring of the following year.
Datura innoxia, like other Datura species, contains the highly toxic alkaloids atropine, hyoscine (scopolamine), and hyoscyamine. The Aztecs called the plant by the Nahuatl names toloatzin and toloaxihuitl (trans. "the plant with the nodding head" - in reference to the nodding seed capsules) and used it long before the Spanish conquest of Mexico for many therapeutic purposes, such as poultices for wounds where it acts as an anodyne.  Although the Aztecs warned against madness and "various and vain imaginings", many Native Americans have used the plant as an entheogen for hallucinations and rites of passage. The alkaloids of these plants are very similar to those of mandrake, deadly nightshade, and henbane, which are also highly poisonous plants used cautiously for effective pain relief in antiquity.
Datura intoxication typically produces a complete inability to differentiate reality from fantasy (delirium, as contrasted to hallucination); hyperthermia; tachycardia; bizarre, and possibly violent behavior; and severe mydriasis with resultant painful photophobia that can last several days. Pronounced amnesia is another commonly reported effect.  There can easily be a 5:1 variation in toxins from plant to plant, and a given plant's toxicity depends on its age, where it is growing, and local weather conditions. These wide variations make Datura exceptionally hazardous to use as a drug. In traditional cultures, users needed to have a great deal of experience and detailed plant knowledge so that no harm resulted from using it. Such knowledge is not widely available in modern cultures, so many unfortunate incidents result from ingesting Datura. In the 1990s and 2000s, the United States media contained stories of adolescents and young adults dying or becoming seriously ill from intentionally ingesting Datura.
It has also been planted throughout the world as an ornamental plant for its attractive large leaves, large white flowers, and distinctive thorny fruit. However, the plant is now considered an invasive species in several locations. For example, because of the similarity of its life cycle to that of cotton, it is a weed of cotton fields. It is also a potential seed contaminant.


Datura stramonium, known by the common names thorn apple, jimsonweed (jimson weed), devil's snare, or devil's trumpet, is a species of flowering plant in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Its likely origin was in Central America, and it has been introduced in many world regions. It is an aggressive invasive weed in temperate climates across the world. D. stramonium has frequently been employed in traditional medicine to treat a variety of ailments. It has also been used as a hallucinogen (of the anticholinergic/antimuscarinic,  deliriant type), taken entheogenically to cause intense, sacred or occult visions. It is unlikely ever to become a major drug of abuse owing to effects upon both mind and body frequently perceived as being highly unpleasant, giving rise to a state of profound and long-lasting disorientation or delirium (anticholinergic syndrome) with a potentially fatal outcome. It contains tropane alkaloids which are responsible for the psychoactive effects, and may be severely toxic.


Datura stramonium is an erect, annual, freely branching herb that forms a bush up to 60 to 150 cm (2 to 5 ft) tall.
The root is long, thick, fibrous, and white. The stem is stout, erect, leafy, smooth, and pale yellow-green to reddish purple in color. The stem forks off repeatedly into branches and each fork forms a leaf and a single, erect flower.
The leaves are about 8 to 20 cm (3–8 in) long, smooth, toothed, soft, and irregularly undulated. The upper surface of the leaves is a darker green, and the bottom is a light green. The leaves have a bitter and nauseating taste, which is imparted to extracts of the herb, and remains even after the leaves have been dried.
Datura stramonium generally flowers throughout the summer. The fragrant flowers have a pleasing odour; are trumpet-shaped, white to creamy or violet, and 6 to 9 cm (2+1⁄2–3+1⁄2 in) long; and grow on short stems from either the axils of the leaves or the places where the branches fork. The calyx is long and tubular, swollen at the bottom, and sharply angled, surmounted by five sharp teeth. The corolla, which is folded and only partially open, is white, funnel-shaped, and has prominent ribs. The flowers open at night, emitting a pleasant fragrance, and are fed upon by nocturnal moths.
The egg-shaped seed capsule is 3 to 8 cm (1–3 in) in diameter and either covered with spines or bald. At maturity, it splits into four chambers, each with dozens of small, black seeds.


The genus name is derived from the plant's Hindi name, dhatūra, ultimately from Sanskrit dhattūra 'white thorn-apple'. The origin of Neo-Latin stramonium is unknown; the name Stramonia was used in the 17th century for various Datura species.  There is some evidence that Stramonium is originally from Greek στρύχνος "nightshade" and μανιακός "mad". It is called umathai (ஊமத்தை) in Tamil.
In the United States the plant is called "jimsonweed", or more rarely "Jamestown weed" deriving from the town of Jamestown, Virginia, where English soldiers consumed it while attempting to suppress Bacon's Rebellion. They spent 11 days in altered mental states:
The James-Town Weed (which resembles the Thorny Apple of Peru, and I take to be the plant so call'd) is supposed to be one of the greatest coolers in the world. This being an early plant, was gather'd very young for a boil'd salad, by some of the soldiers sent thither to quell the rebellion of Bacon (1676); and some of them ate plentifully of it, the effect of which was a very pleasant comedy, for they turned natural fools upon it for several days: one would blow up a feather in the air; another would dart straws at it with much fury; and another, stark naked, was sitting up in a corner like a monkey, grinning and making mows [grimaces] at them; a fourth would fondly kiss and paw his companions, and sneer in their faces with a countenance more antic than any in a Dutch droll.
In this frantic condition they were confined, lest they should, in their folly, destroy themselves—though it was observed that all their actions were full of innocence and good nature. Indeed, they were not very cleanly; for they would have wallowed in their own excrements if they had not been prevented. A thousand such simple tricks they played, and after eleven days returned themselves again, not remembering anything that had passed.
— Robert Beverley, Jr., The History and Present State of Virginia, Book II: Of the Natural Product and Conveniencies in Its Unimprov'd State, Before the English Went Thither, 1705
Common names for Datura stramonium vary by region and include thornapple, moon flower, hell's bells, devil's trumpet, devil's weed, tolguacha, Jamestown weed, stinkweed, locoweed, pricklyburr, false castor oil plant, and devil's cucumber.


Datura stramonium is native to North America, but was spread widely to the Old World early where it has also become naturalized.  It was scientifically described and named by Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1753, although it had been described a century earlier by botanists such as Nicholas Culpeper. Today, it grows wild in all the world's warm and temperate regions, where it is found along roadsides and at dung-rich livestock enclosures. In Europe, it is found as a weed  in garbage dumps and wastelands, and is toxic to animals consuming it. In South Africa, it is colloquially known by the Afrikaans name malpitte ("evil seeds").
Through observation, the seed is thought to be carried by birds and spread in their droppings. Its seeds can lie dormant underground for years and germinate when the soil is disturbed.  The Royal Horticultural Society has advised worried gardeners to dig it up or have it otherwise removed, while wearing gloves to handle it.


All parts of Datura plants contain dangerous levels of the tropane alkaloids atropine, hyoscyamine, and scopolamine, which are classified as deliriants, or anticholinergics. The risk of fatal overdose is high among uninformed users, and many hospitalizations occur among recreational users who ingest the plant for its psychoactive effects. Deliberate or inadvertent poisoning resulting from smoking jimsonweed and other related species has been reported.
The amount of toxins varies widely from plant to plant. As much as a 5:1 variation can be found between plants, and a given plant's toxicity depends on its age, where it is growing, and the local weather conditions. Additionally, within a given plant, toxin concentration varies by part and even from leaf to leaf. When the plant is younger, the ratio of scopolamine to atropine is about 3:1; after flowering, this ratio is reversed, with the amount of scopolamine continuing to decrease as the plant gets older. In traditional cultures, a great deal of experience with and detailed knowledge of Datura was critical to minimize harm. An individual seed contains about 0.1 mg of atropine, and the approximate fatal dose for adult humans is >10 mg atropine or >2–4 mg scopolamine.
Datura intoxication typically produces delirium, hallucination, hyperthermia, tachycardia, bizarre behavior, urinary retention, and severe mydriasis with resultant painful photophobia that can last several days. Pronounced amnesia is another commonly reported effect. The onset of symptoms generally occurs around 30 to 60 minutes after ingesting the herb. These symptoms generally last from 24 to 48 hours, but have been reported in some cases to last as long as 2 weeks.
As with other cases of anticholinergic poisoning, intravenous physostigmine can be administered in severe cases as an antidote.


One of the primary active agents in Datura is atropine which has been used in traditional medicine and recreationally over centuries. The leaves are generally smoked either in a cigarette or a pipe. During the late 18th century, James Anderson, the English Physician General of the East India Company, learned of the practice and popularized it in Europe. The Chinese also used it as a form of anesthesia during surgery.


John Gerard's Herball (1597) states,
[T]he juice of Thornapple, boiled with hog's grease, cureth all inflammations whatsoever, all manner of burnings and scaldings, as well of fire, water, boiling lead, gunpowder, as that which comes by lightning and that in very short time, as myself have found in daily practice, to my great credit and profit.
William Lewis reported, in the late 18th century, that the juice could be made into "a very powerful remedy in various convulsive and spasmodic disorders, epilepsy and mania," and was also "found to give ease in external inflammations and haemorrhoids".


Henry Hyde Salter discusses D. stramonium as a treatment for asthma in his 19th-century work On Asthma: its Pathology and Treatment.
Smoking of herbs, including D. stramonium, has been a recognized temporary relief to asthmatics by physicians since antiquity, onto the early 20th century. The mainstream medical use of smoking D. stramonium to treat asthma would later wane in popularity, following new understandings of asthma as an allergic inflammatory reaction, and developments in pharmacology that provided a variety of new, immediately more effective treatments for asthma.
Muscarinic antagonists, found in the tribe Datureae (among other plants), such as atropine, and synthetic tropane derivatives selective for muscarinic acetylcholine receptor subtypes such as ipratropium bromide and tiotropium bromide, are prescribed in some cases of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma.


Across the Americas, indigenous peoples, such as the Algonquian, Aztecs, Navajo, Cherokee, Luiseño and the indigenous peoples of Marie-Galante used this plant or similar species in sacred ceremonies for its hallucinogenic properties. In Ethiopia, some students and debtrawoch (lay priests), use D. stramonium to "open the mind" to be more receptive to learning, and creative and imaginative thinking.
The common name "datura" has its origins in India, where the sister species Datura metel is considered particularly sacred — believed to be a favorite of Shiva in Shaivism. Both Datura stramonium and D. metel have reportedly been used by some sadhus and charnel ground ascetics, such as the Aghori as both an entheogen and ordeal poison. It was sometimes mixed with cannabis as well as highly poisonous plants like Aconitum ferox to intentionally create dysphoric experiences. They used unpleasant or toxic plants such as these in order to achieve spiritual liberation (moksha) in settings of extreme horror and discomfort.
Among its sacred and visionary purposes, jimson weed has also garnered a reputation for its magical uses in various cultures throughout history. In his book, The Serpent and the Rainbow, Wade Davis identified D. stramonium, called "zombi cucumber" in Haiti, as a central ingredient of the concoction vodou priests use to create zombies. However it has been noted that the process of zombification is not directly performed by vodou priests of the loa but rather by bokors. In European witchcraft, D. stramonium was also a common ingredient used for making witches' flying ointment along with other poisonous plants of the nightshade family. It was often responsible for the hallucinogenic effects of magical or lycanthropic salves and potions. During the witch-phobia craze in Early Modern times in England and parts of the colonial Northeastern U.S. it was often considered unlucky or inappropriate to grow the plant in one's garden as it was considered to be an aid to incantations.


Datura stramonium prefers rich, calcareous soil. Adding nitrogen fertilizer to the soil increases the concentration of alkaloids present in the plant. D. stramonium can be grown from seed, which is sown with several feet between plants. It is sensitive to frost, so should be sheltered during cold weather. The plant is harvested when the fruits are ripe, but still green. To harvest, the entire plant is cut down, the leaves are stripped from the plant, and everything is left to dry. When the fruits begin to burst open, the seeds are harvested. For intensive plantations, leaf yields of 1,100 to 1,700 kilograms per hectare (1,000 to 1,500 lb/acre) and seed yields of 780 kg/ha (700 lb/acre) are possible.


Daucus carota, whose common names include wild carrot, bird's nest, bishop's lace, and Queen Anne's lace (North America), is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae. It is native to temperate regions of the Old World and was naturalized in the New World.
Domesticated carrots are cultivars of a subspecies, Daucus carota subsp. sativus.


The wild carrot is a herbaceous, somewhat variable biennial plant that grows between 30 and 120 cm (1 and 4 ft) tall, and is roughly hairy, with a stiff, solid stem. The leaves are tripinnate, finely divided and lacy, and overall triangular in shape. The leaves are 5–15 cm (2–6 in) long, bristly and alternate in a pinnate pattern that separates into thin segments. The flowers are small and dull white, clustered in flat, dense umbels. The umbels are terminal and about 8–15 cm (3–6 in) wide. They may be pink in bud and may have a reddish or purple flower in the centre of the umbel. The lower bracts are three-forked or pinnate, which distinguishes the plant from other white-flowered umbellifers. As the seeds develop, the umbel curls up at the edges, becomes more congested, and develops a concave surface. The fruits are small, dry, bumpy, oval and flattened, with short styles and hooked spines, as well as protective hairs surrounding it. The fruit has two mericarps, or bicarpellate. The endosperm of the fruit grows before the embryo. The dried umbels detach from the plant, becoming tumbleweeds. The function of the tiny red flower, coloured by anthocyanin, is to attract insects. The flowers bloom from May to September.
Similar in appearance to the deadly poison hemlock, D. carota is distinguished by a mix of tripinnate leaves, fine hairs on its solid green stems and on its leaves, a root that smells like carrots, and occasionally a single dark red flower in the center of the umbel. Hemlock is also different in tending to have purple mottling on its stems, which also lack the hairiness of the plain green Queen Anne's lace (wild carrot) stems. Both plants have been spread into North America by European settlers and are now common wildflowers there.


The function of the central dark florets of D. carota has been subject to debate since Charles Darwin speculated that they are a vestigial trait. It has been suggested that they have the adaptive function of mimicking insects, thus either discouraging herbivory, or attracting pollinators by indicating the presence of food or opportunities for mating. One study in Portugal found that the dark florets contributed to visitation by the varied carpet beetle, Anthrenus verbasci, and that higher numbers of dark florets correlated with increased visitation, whereas inflorescences without dark florets had fewer visits. Replacing the dark florets with one or more freeze-killed A. verbasci, who are similar to the florets in size and shape produced similar results to those observations of inflorescences with intact florets.


The carrot was first officially described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1753 work Species Plantarum. In 2016, an international team  sequenced the full genome of Daucus carota.


Cultivated carrot's only parent is Daucus carota.
Both domestic and wild carrot are from the same species, Daucus carota L. There are several subspecies of D. carota that have evolved to different climates and atmospheres. Two examples of these subspecies are specifically from the Netherlands. D. carota subsp. sativus has roots that can be a wide range of colors. It has a thicker root and sweeter taste. The whorl of barbs above the spine on the vallecular ridges of the mericarp of D. carota subsp. sativus mature very well. D. carota subsp. carota has white roots that do not vary in color and, unlike D. carota subsp. sativus, has a thin root, bitter taste and are not edible. The middle umbellet of D. carota subsp. carota is not well developed (unlike in D. carota subsp. sativus) and the color of the flower can vary from red to deep purple.


The following subtaxa are accepted:
Daucus carota var. abyssinicus A.Braun
Daucus carota subsp. annuus (Bég.) Mart.Flores, D.M.Spooner & M.B.Crespo
Daucus carota subsp. azoricus Franco
Daucus carota subsp. cantabricus A.Pujadas
Daucus carota subsp. capillifolius (Gilli) Arbizu
Daucus carota subsp. caporientalis Reduron
Daucus carota subsp. carota
Daucus carota subsp. commutatus (Paol.) Thell.
Daucus carota subsp. corsoccidentalis Reduron
Daucus carota subsp. drepanensis (Arcang.) Heywood
Daucus carota subsp. fontanesii Thell.
Daucus carota subsp. gadecaei (Rouy & E.G.Camus) Heywood
Daucus carota subsp. gummifer (Syme) Hook.f.
Daucus carota subsp. halophilus (Brot.) A.Pujadas
Daucus carota subsp. hispanicus (Gouan) Thell.
Daucus carota subsp. major (Vis.) Arcang.
Daucus carota subsp. majoricus A.Pujadas
Daucus carota subsp. maritimus (Lam.) Batt.
Daucus carota subsp. maximus (Desf.) Ball
Daucus carota var. meriensis Reduron
Daucus carota subsp. otaportensis Reduron
Daucus carota subsp. rupestris (Guss.) Heywood
Daucus carota subsp. sativus (Hoffm.) Schübl. & G.Martens
Daucus carota subsp. tenuissimus (A.Chev.) Mart.Flores, D.M.Spooner & M.B.Crespo
Daucus carota subsp. valeriae Reduron


Native to temperate regions of Europe and southwest Asia, the plant was spread to North America and Australia.
The plant is commonly found along roadsides and in unused fields. It thrives best in sun to partial shade.


Skin contact with the foliage of Daucus carota, especially wet foliage, can cause skin irritation in some people. It may also have a mild effect on horses.
The compound falcarinol is naturally found in Daucus carota for protection against fungal diseases. Lab tests show the compound to be toxic to mice and the water flea Daphnia magna. Normal consumption of carrots has no toxic effect in humans.


Like the cultivated carrot, the D. carota root is edible while young, but it quickly becomes too woody to consume. The flowers are sometimes battered and fried. The leaves and seeds are also edible.
D. carota bears a close resemblance to poison hemlock, and the leaves of the wild carrot may cause phytophotodermatitis, so caution should also be used when handling the plant. The seeds and flowers have been used as a method of contraception and an abortifacient for centuries. If used as a dyestuff, the flowers give a creamy, off-white color.
D. carota, when freshly cut, will draw or change color depending on the color of the water in which it is held. This effect is only visible on the "head" or flower of the plant. Carnations also exhibit this effect. This occurrence is a popular science demonstration in grade school.


This beneficial weed can be used as a companion plant to crops. Like most members of the umbellifer family, it attracts wasps to its small flowers in its native land; however, where it has been introduced, it attracts very few wasps. In northeast Wisconsin, when introduced with blueberries it did succeed in attracting butterflies and wasps. This species is also documented to boost tomato plant production when kept nearby, and it can provide a microclimate of cooler, moister air for lettuce, when intercropped with it. However, the states of Iowa, Michigan, and Washington have listed it as a noxious weed, and it is considered a serious pest in pastures. It persists in the soil seed bank for two to five years.


Daucus carota was introduced and naturalized in North America, where it is often known as Queen Anne's lace. Both Anne, Queen of Great Britain, and her great-grandmother, Anne of Denmark, are taken to be the Queen Anne for whom the plant is named. It is so called because the flower resembles lace, prominent in fine clothing of the day; the red flower in the center is said to represent a droplet of blood where Queen Anne pricked herself with a needle when she was making the lace.


The history of Daucus carota and its cultivation in different parts of the world can be traced back through historical texts and artwork. Paintings from the 16th and 17th century, for example, that are of maids in a market or farmers' most recent crops can provide information on carrots' history. Studying such paintings shows that yellow or red roots were cultivated in Turkey, North Africa, and Spain. Orange roots were cultivated in 17th century Netherlands.


Queen Anne's Lace is the title and subject of a poem by William Carlos Williams published in the 1921 collection titled Sour Grapes.


Daucus pusillus is a species of wild carrot known by the common names American wild carrot and rattle-snake-weed. Its Latin name means "little carrot", or "tiny carrot". It is similar in appearance to other species and subspecies of wild carrot, with umbels of white or pinkish flowers.
The taproots are small, edible carrots. This is a common plant found in the Southern United States and along the west coast of North America from Baja California to British Columbia; as an example occurrence in Baja California, D. pusillus occurs in association with Mimulus aridus and Adiantum jordanii. It should not be confused with Conium maculatum, which is highly poisonous.


Dawsonia superba is a moss in the class Polytrichaceae that is found in Australia, New Guinea, Malaysia and New Zealand. D. superba is the tallest self-supporting moss in the world, reaching heights of 60 cm. It has analogous structures to those in vascular plants that support large size, including hydroid and leptoid cells to conduct water and photosynthate, and lamellae that provide gas chambers for more efficient photosynthesis. D. superba is a member of the class Polytrichopsida, although it has a sporophyte that is unique from other hair-cap mosses.
There is some confusion surrounding if Dawsonia superba and Dawsonia longifolia are distinct species or refer to the same moss. According to some sources, Dawsonia longifolia and Dawsonia superba have been merged. For a long time, both D. longifolia and D. superba were used to refer to the same species, with some regional variation in its use. Both terms are still used today.


The species is commonly found in  Australia, New Guinea, Malaysia and New Zealand. D. superba prefers “moist, well-illuminated environments”, cloud forests, and shady forests. It has often been observed growing at the base of uprooted trees.


Like all bryophytes, D. superba has a dominant gametophyte stage. The gametophyte is the haploid stage of the life cycle, and is composed of leaves, a stem, and root-like rhizoids. These rhizoids extend farther underground than is typical of other mosses.
The stem of the D. superba gametophyte has a central conducting strand and leaf traces. The stem has hydroid cells that conduct water, and leptoid cells that conduct photosynthate. According to Zanten (1973), the stem of D. superba is also characterized by the presence of sclerenchyma, which are cells with lignin in their cell walls. However, chemical analyses have shown that D. superba does not contain lignin, although it may contain a lignin-like component.
The leaves of D. superba can be up to 30 mm long. Like other polytrichid mosses, the leaves of D. superba have lamellae. Lamellae are made up of rows of lamella that are one cell thick and several cells high. These rows of lamella sit atop the leaf’s midrib, or costa. Each cell contains many chloroplasts. Lamellae increase the available surface area of the leaf for photosynthesis, and air spaces between each lamella allow for gas exchange to make photosynthesis more efficient. Lamellae have been referred to as “pseudo-mesophyll”, meaning that they are analogous to mesophyll structures in vascular plant leaves, which also aid in gas exchange. Lamellae allow mosses to tolerate higher light saturation, which allows them to photosynthesis efficiently even in bright light, unlike other mosses with a unistratose leaf.
A waxy cuticle covers the leaf and the top of the lamellae. The wax acts as a hydrophobic barrier, so that air spaces in the lamellae are protected from both drying out and over-saturation from rainwater.


The diploid sporophyte of D. superba is produced from gametophytic tissue and is dependent on the gametophyte for water and nutrients. A long seta extends the sporangium above the gametophyte. The sporangium is the site of meiosis, and haploid spores are released from the sporangium through the peristome teeth. As in all members of the class Polytrichopsida, D. superba has nematodontous peristome teeth.This means that the peristome teeth are made up of whole cells. However, members of the genus Dawsonia have unique bristle-like peristome teeth. These teeth are arranged circularly in multiple rows and form a brush-like turf that spores are released through. No epiphragms are present in the Dawsoniaceae group.
The spores are dispersed over time from between these peristome teeth. Spores of D. superba are small ( 7um in diameter) and smooth. Once they have germinated, spores form protonemal shoots that develop into gametophytes.


The gametophytes of D. superba are diocious, meaning that the male and female reproductive structures are housed on separate plants. The male reproductive structure, or antheridium, produces sperm that must reach a female archegonial plant in order for fertilization to occur.
While male and female plants are separate in D. superba, they often grow very close to each other. In order to disperse sperm, male gametophytes use what is called a splash-cup mechanism. Archegonia are found at the tips of gametophytic shoots. The leaves surrounding the antheridia, also called perigonial leaves, form a shallow cup-like structure. Water that falls into this cup collects sperm, and as the water splashes out of the cup the sperm is carried out with it. Using this mechanism, sperm can be dispersed up to 3 meters away from the male gametophyte.


Leaves, when isolated from the rest of the plant, have been shown by Selkirk (1980) to develop protonemal filaments, although this regeneration is rare in D. superba compared to other members of the genus. Additionally, rhizomes often send up vegetative shoots.


D. superba is the tallest known moss and can grow up to a height of 60 cm. Growth rates as high as 48 mm per year have been observed, although the average growth rate is likely closer to 20 mm per year. Temperature is the most important factor for growth, with the second most important factor being optimal water levels.
In order to grow tall, a plant must be able to conduct enough photosynthesis to have energy for growth, and have enough water to continue photosynthesis. Therefore, high photosynthetic efficiency and some sort of water transport system is necessary for plants to reach a certain height. D. superba has a hydroid system to conduct water and a leptoid system to conduct photosynthate, which allows the plant to stay hydrated internally. Surface wax on leaves also reduces desiccation. D. superba also has lamellae on its leaves. Lamellae increase photosynthetic surface area and provide spaces for gas exchange, both of which increase photosynthetic efficiency. These traits combined allow D. superba to grow taller than other mosses.


There are many traditional uses for D. superba, many of which utilize the moss’s size for decoration. Indigenous peoples in New Guinea and Malaysia have used Dawsonia species as decoration. This has ranged from it being worn as headwear, body decoration, decoration of ceremonial masks, bracelets, and bags. Additionally, in Malaysia large mosses such as Dawsonia are thought to ward off evil spirits.


The wart-biter (Decticus verrucivorus)  is a bush-cricket in the family Tettigoniidae. Its common and scientific names derive from the eighteenth-century Swedish practice of allowing the crickets to nibble at warts to remove them.


Adult wart-biters are 31–37 millimetres (1.2–1.5 in), with females being significantly larger than males. They are typically dark green in colour, usually with dark brown blotches on the pronotum and wings (a dark brown morphotype also occurs). The female has a long and slightly upcurved ovipositor.
The wart-biter has a song consisting of a rapidly repeated series of short bursts of clicks, sometimes lasting for several minutes.
Wart-biters normally move about by walking; they rarely fly, except when frightened. Most can only fly 3 to 4 metres (10 to 13 ft) at a time.


The species is found in calcareous grassland and heathland habitats.
Wart-biters need a mosaic of vegetation, including bare ground/short turf, grass tussocks, and a sward rich in flowering forbs. They prefer areas that are not heavily grazed. The species is thermophilous, and tends to occur on sites with a southerly aspect.


The wart-biter lays its eggs in the soil; these eggs normally hatch after two winters. It then passes through seven instar stages between April and June. The adult stage is reached in the beginning of July. Wart-biter populations peak in late July and early August. Newly hatched Decticus are encased in a sheath to facilitate their trip to the soil surface, the sheath holding the legs and antennae safely against the body while burrowing upwards. A neck which can in turn be inflated and deflated, enlarges the top of its tunnel, easing its passage upwards.


This species occurs throughout continental Europe, except the extreme south, ranging from southern Scandinavia to Portugal,  Spain, Italy, and Greece. It is also found in temperate Asia, as far east as China. Geographic features such as mountains have fragmented the species, leading to a wide range of forms and numerous subspecies.
In Britain, the wart-biter is confined to five sites, two in East Sussex, and one each in Wiltshire, Essex, Dorset and Kent.


The population of wart-biters has declined in many areas of northern Europe. In Britain, it is threatened with extirpation. The species is the subject of a United Kingdom Biodiversity Action Plan.


Delairea is a plant genus within the family Asteraceae that is native to South Africa. Classified within the tribe Senecioneae, it contains only one species, Delairea odorata, which was previously included in the genus Senecio as Senecio mikanioides. It is known as Cape ivy in some parts of the world (US) and German ivy in others (Britain, Ireland). Its multi-lobed leaves somewhat resemble those of the unrelated English ivy. Originally used as an ornamental plant on trellises and as groundcover, it is now rarely cultivated because of its invasiveness, in addition to being a weed.


Delairea odorata is a vine that climbs up trees and will reach heights of 2–4 metres (7–13 ft). Though it can also form mats. The plant emits a distinguishing odor when crushed and it also occurs during flowering, hence its species name "odorata" (which means 'fragrant').
Its stems are usually purplish when young and fragile, where they turn green and somewhat succulent. They finally become creamy-brown and slightly woody as they age. They are rounded, normally less than 10 millimetres (25⁄64 in) thick, and glabrous. The glossy and semi-succulent leaves, which are 3–10 centimetres (1+1⁄4–4 in) long and 3–8 centimetres (1+1⁄4–3+1⁄4 in) wide, are borne on stalks and are alternately arranged along the stems, where they feature 3-10 small lobes or toothed margins. The upper leaf surfaces are light green, but usually somewhat purple-hinted, while the undersurface are somewhat silvery.
The plant's stems and leaves die off between late summer and early autumn, but are superseded by new shoots that employ the old stems as climbing support.


Its sweet-scented flowers are yellow, which lack the petal-like ray florets found in typical daisies. They have tiny tubular florets surrounded by a row (i.e. involucre) of 8-10 small green bracts (3–5 millimetres (15⁄128–25⁄128 in) long). Flower-heads (2–7 millimetres (5⁄64–35⁄128 in) across and 2–5 millimetres (5⁄64–25⁄128 in) long) are supported in compact clusters at the end of the branches (terminal corymbs), with every cluster comprising about 15-50 flower-heads. Flowering occurs mostly during winter to early spring.
The seeds (or achenes) are approximately 2 millimetres (5⁄64 in) long and are reddish-brown in colour as they age. They feature a pappus of silky white hairs that is 5–6 millimetres (25⁄128–15⁄64 in) long. Most of its seed in North America and possibly elsewhere are unviable, which may be the deficiency of effective pollinators. However, the plant can rather promptly reproduce from stem fragments, stolons, or rhizomes as small as 2.5 centimetres (63⁄64 in).


The plant is actually uncommon in its native country of South Africa, where it was originally found in the Drakensberg Mountains, on forest edges, at elevations above 1,500 metres (4,900 ft). Its occurrence at the more coastal areas (some of which are arid) in South Africa is probably more recent. In California, it is generally found in the fog belt on the coast, with a few specimens found inland, particularly in riparian sites that feature permanent moisture. It is found in wetter temperate regions, but it may still be found in cooler subtropical environments. It prefers partial shade, but can withstand heavy shade, and in more damp areas, it can prosper in full sun, though it is frost tender. Despite its invasive nature, the plant is grown as an ornamental houseplant for its foliage.


Delairea odorata has become an invasive species in coastal California starting in 1892, Hawaii, coastal Oregon, New Zealand and southern Australia (particularly in Victoria). The plant will cover shrubs and trees, inhibiting growth and will also cover ground intensively over a wide area, thereby preventing seeds from germinating or growing. It is also toxic to animals who eat it and to fish where it trails into waterways. In the 1850s, in Geelong, the plant was described in the Geelong Advertiser, "the great stumps, over which the little boys played leap-frog, are either gone or covered with the Cape ivy". Furthermore, 1856 and 1864 columns in the Sydney Morning Herald mention a Cape Ivy observed on the dunes at Newcastle, New South Wales and Gulaga, though the name may have been referred to Senecio angulatus or S. tamoides, which were also collected in New South Wales around that period.
The vine reaches maturity in 2 years and it can produce over 30,000 seeds annually. In Hawaii an introduced species of moth (Galtara extensa) for the biological control of Senecio madagascariensis – both originally from Madagascar – proved to feed also on D. odorata.
D. odorata is the host of Cercospora delaireae, a species nova introduced by Groenewald et al., 2013. It is presently known only from the same South African native range of the host. Due to the pathogen's effects – especially its leaf spot disease – they advocate C. delaireae as a potential biocontrol of the vine in its invasive ranges.
Another organism from its native range, the moth Digitivalva delaireae, also can be used as a biocontrol. Mehelis et al., 2015 test its food preferences and find it is very selective for D. odorata. Because it avoids any vulnerable native plants in California and Oregon it is a good choice specifically to control the infestations there.


The name Cape ivy is also used ambiguously for Senecio angulatus, a different but related creeper. S. angulatus has been incorrectly listed as a synonym to D. odorata historically, and these species have been confused regularly despite the visual differences. A feature that distinguishes it from Senecio angulatus are the small ear-shaped appendages at the base of the stalks of the leaves and its flowers which do not have obvious 'petals', whereas S. angulatus and S. tamoides have daisy-like flowers.
Senecio tamoides is another similar looking plant in the same tribe, which is often mistaken for the two aforementioned species. Atlas of Living Australia has also misapplied S. tamoides for its D. odorata observations in Australia.


Delias eucharis, the common Jezebel, is a medium-sized pierid butterfly found in many areas of south and southeast Asia, especially in the non-arid regions of India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Myanmar and Thailand. The common Jezebel is one of the most common of the approximately 225 described species in the genus Delias.


The wingspan of both males and females ranges from 6.5 to 8.5 cm.


Upperside is white. The forewings have the veins broadly black, this colour broadened triangularly at the termination of the veins, costal margin narrowly black; a broad black postdiscal transverse band from costa to dorsum sloped obliquely outwards from costa to vein 4, thence parallel to termen. Hindwing with the veins similar but for three-fourths of their length much more narrowly black; a postdiscal transverse black band as on the forewing but much narrower, curved and extended only between veins 2 and 6; beyond this the veins are more broadly black and this colour as on the forewing broadens out triangularly at the termination of the veins; the interspaces beyond the postdiscal black band pink, due to the vermilion colouration of the underside showing through.
On the underside, the forewings are similar but the black edging to the veins much broader, the upper two interspaces beyond the postdiscal transverse band tinged with yellow. Hindwing: ground colour bright yellow, the veins and transverse postdiscal band as on the upperside but much more broadly black, the latter extended from the costa to vein 2; the interspaces between the veins beyond the postdiscal fascia with a series of broadly lanceolate (lance-shaped) or cone-shaped vermilion-red spots, each spot very narrowly edged with white; the basal portion of interspace 6 white, in contrast to the bright yellow of the ground colour. Antenna black; head, thorax and abdomen white, the apical joint of the palpi black; the head and thorax with a mixture of black hairs that give these parts a grey-blue appearance.


Upper and undersides similar to those in the male, but the black edging to the veins and the postdiscal transverse bands on both forewings and hindwings are much broader.


The common Jezebel are nomadic in behaviour and are found in a variety of environment including, but not limited to, temperate hill forests, tropical rainforests, dry open woodlands, and beach hinterlands. They are generally found all over India, except in the desert tracts, and up to an altitude of 7,000 feet (2,100 m) in the hills. The butterfly may be found wherever there are trees, even in towns and cities, flying high among the trees and visiting flowers.
It is also commonly seen in gardens. The females can be seen flying amongst the trees in search of its food plants, while the males are more frequently observed visiting flowers for nectar. It rests with its wings closed exhibiting the brilliantly coloured underside.
The Jezebel often flies high up in the canopy and usually comes lower down only to feed on nectar in flowers. Due to this habit apparently, it has evolved a dull upperside and a brilliant underside so that birds below it recognise it immediately while in flight and at rest.


It has bright colouration to indicate the fact that it is unpalatable due to toxins accumulated by the larvae from the host plants.
Like other unpalatable butterflies the common Jezebel is mimicked by Prioneris sita, the painted sawtooth. The common Jezebel can be distinguished by the shape of the orange red spots on the hindwing. In the painted sawtooth these spots are very squarish whereas in the common Jezebel they are more arrow head shaped. The painted sawtooth also flies faster and will also mudpuddle.


The caterpillars are gregarious in the first few instars. Caterpillars are yellow brown with a black head and have white tubercules from which long white hair arise.
"Long, cylindrical and smooth with an oily gloss. Two subdorsal rows of long white bristles springing from minute white tubercles; head, sides and back sparsely clothed with short white bristles: colour brown, head and feet black. It may be found from the beginning of August everywhere on the common 'mistletoe' (Loranthus), from which it will drop and hang by a thread if the tree is shaken. We have never found it feeding on anything else. Unlike most butterflies this species lays as many as twenty or thirty eggs on one leaf, in parallel rows, with equal intervals, and the larvae continue in some measure gregarious to the last, so that a large number of pupae are often found, at a little distance from each other, on a wall, or the trunk of a tree."
When born, they first make a meal of their eggshell and wander off to the nearest leaf-margin where they devour the leaf, side by side, and then move on to the next one. Leaf after leaf is collectively devoured by this group till they pass through the first few instars of the larval stage. However growth amongst these caterpillars is not even due to the varying amount of food that each is able to get. Accordingly, their development is staggered, they pupate only when they are ready and the brood emerges over a period of time. The larva is not very lively. When disturbed, it drops off the leaf by a silken thread.


"Closely attached by the tail and by a band generally to a vertical surface with the head upwards. It is moderately stout with a short snout, two small tubercles on the head, a sharp but not prominent dorsal ridge on the thorax, continued in a row of tubercles on the abdominal segments. Below these are two partial subdorsal rows. Colour bright yellow; tubercles and a row of spots defining the wing-cases black."
"Large numbers are destroyed by a dipterous parasite very like a common
house-fly." (Davidson and Aitken)
The chrysalis is bright yellow coloured. It is marked with black spots and lines. It is attached to the underside of a leaf or branch or any other suitable surface by a strong tail pad and a tight body band.


The larval plants are various species of parasitic mistletoes such as Loranthus, small shrubs that grow on the branches of trees. This butterfly's ability to form dense aggregations as caterpillars and to feed on Loranthus has led to suggestions that they could be used for control of these mistletoes. The larva has been recorded on Butea monosperma, Dendrophthoe falcata, Dendrophthoe glabrescens, Loranthus, Loranthus cordifolius, Helicanthes elasticus, Loranthus longiflorus, Scurrula parasitica, Taxillus vestitus, Abelmoschus moschatus, Pterospermum acerifolium and Viscum album.


Delias pasithoe, the redbase Jezebel is a medium-sized butterfly of the family Pieridae, that is, the yellows and whites. The species is found in parts of South Asia and Southeast Asia. There has been some dispute for which species the specific name aglaja (or aglaia), used twice by Linnaeus in 1758, applies – the redbase Jezebel, or the dark green fritillary (Speyeria aglaja), a brush-footed butterfly. Here, Delias pasithoe is used for the redbase Jezebel, based on the replacement name proposed by Linnaeus himself.


Upperside: black. Forewing with more or less distinct, somewhat diffuse, broad streaks from base, in the discoidal cell and interspaces 1 and 2, the streak in the last the most produced; a white oval spot at lower apex of cell traversed by the lower discocellular, followed by a subterminal series of greyish-white hastate (spear-shaped) markings with their points turned inwards, the markings opposite the apex of the wing elongate and shifted a little inwards. Hindwing: a broad subbasal transverse greyish-white band merged posteriorly in a large bright yellow dorsal patch that fills the apical two-thirds, the extreme apex excepted, of interspaces 1a, 1, and of 2; a white transversely elongate spot along the middle discocellular, and beyond it a postdiscal curved series of greyish-white elongate hastate spots in interspaces 3 to 7.
Underside: black. Forewing: somewhat elongate greyish-white markings in interspaces 1, 2, 3 and in cell, formed into a conspicuous oblique broad bar across the middle of the wing; a white spot at lower apex of cell and a postdiscal series of hastate spots as on the upperside. Hindwing: black, a rich dark crimson patch at base, a yellow dorsal patch as on the upperside but darker; the apical two-thirds of the cell, three spots above it and one below at bases of interspaces 3, 6 and 7 respectively and a curved discal series of elongate spots beyond apex of cell, rich chrome-yellow; of these latter spots the spot in interspace 5 is much the longest. Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen above black, abdomen on the sides and below grey.


Upperside: brownish black. Forewing: markings as in the male, but the cellular streak and the streaks in interspaces 1 and 2 below the cell short and formed into a broken oblique broad greyish-white band across the wing. Hindwing: markings similar to those in the male, but the basal crimson patch of the underside seen through by transparency, the transverse broad subbasal band and dorsal patch both pale yellow and much broader than in the male, and the postdiscal curved series of hastate spots obscure and ill-defined. Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen as in the male, the abdomen whitish grey below and on the sides.
Wingspan is 66–90 mm.


Nepal; Sikkim; Assam; Myanmar; Tenasserim; to the south extending through the Malay Peninsula to Borneo; to the east through the Shan States to Thailand and southern China.


Brownish red, each segment with a transverse row of long bristles, The outer bristles black, the middle yellow. Length about 2 inches. Found in March feeding on the young leaves of the binga tree (Nauclea rotundifolia).


Very dark reddish brown or black, smooth, sinuate; head with three sharp points and a broad truncation in front; segments of the abdomen and the front with small acute tubercular projections.


Delphinia picta is a species of picture-winged fly in the family Ulidiidae. The specific name picta is from Latin and means "painted." It is the only species in the monospecific genus Delphinia. It is found in the United States on the East Coast and in the Midwest from Florida to Maine across to Kansas through Minnesota but also can be found in Mexico and El Salvador. It is sometimes mistaken for a species of fruit fly, but D. picta do not feed on living plant matter, as they are detritivores and eat decaying plant matter. They also have been observed eating fermenting frass from Megacyllene robiniae on black locust trees. They can be found almost anywhere there is decaying vegetation: landfills, temperate deciduous forests, swamps, and even shaded fields.


The best way to identify the species is by the distinct pattern on its wings, which are shiny and dark brown with a hyaline background. Its body is about 7mm long with a black abdomen and a light brown head, thorax, and legs. The ovipositor averages 1.27mm long with two dorsal and one ventral prominent pairs of setae, as well as many short setae on both sides. The tip of the ovipositor also has a slight bend downward.


Adults raised in the lab usually live less than 40 days, but can live up to 69 days. Mating takes place in the evening two days after emergence from pupae. The female will wave her wings gently and a male will respond by flicking his wings before copulation. Courtship may also include one or more of the partners blowing a bubble from their mouth. Females will lay up to 500 eggs in decaying herbaceous plant matter, which then hatch into larvae in 4 to 6 days. Larvae develop through three instar stages and reach pupae in 21–30 days then finish pupating 14–17 days later. The development is affected by the amount of daylight: D. picta is a multivoltine species with one generation going from May to July and the other overwintering as mature larvae.


Among the plants it associates with are black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia), eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides), and saw palmetto (Serenoa repens). It is prey for wasps, such as Crabro monticola.


Delphinium cardinale is a species of larkspur known by the common names scarlet larkspur and cardinal larkspur. This wildflower is native to California and Baja California, where it grows on coastal, inland, and desert chaparral slopes, such as the Colorado Desert, and the Peninsular and Transverse Ranges.   The presence of diterpenoid alkaloids, probably including the highly toxic methyllycaconitine, in above-ground parts of D. cardinale means that they are likely to be toxic if ingested.


This tall larkspur grows on an erect stem which often exceeds two meters (~6 ft.) in height. It is a perennial herb. The leaves are divided into many narrow lobes. The top of the thin stem is occupied by many widely spaced flowers, each at the end of a pedicel several centimeters long. Each flower has scarlet red sepals which are generally curled forward into a bowl shape. The petals are also scarlet, except for the top two which are scarlet marked with bright yellow blotches. The flower may be 3 centimeters wide and the same in length, including the spur.


Typical habitat is in chert or shale talus at the edge of chaparral or within chaparral gaps.  As its flowers would suggest, it is hummingbird pollinated.


Since D. cardinale does not seem to have been associated either with folk-medicinal usage or livestock-poisoning, it has been the object of only limited chemical study: in 1966, Mike Benn of the University of Calgary in Canada isolated the following diterpenoid alkaloids from the above-ground parts of D. cardinale plants collected in California: browniine; dehydrobrowniine; hetisine; dehydrohetisine and lycoctonine. There was also good evidence for the presence of methyllycaconitine, but this was not isolated.


Delphinium carolinianum, commonly known as Carolina larkspur, is a species of perennial flowering plant in the buttercup family. It is native to central and eastern North America, where it is found in prairies and rocky glades. It produces blue to white flowers in the spring.
Four subspecies have been named:
D. carolinianum var. calciphilum - Native to cedar glades of the Southeastern United States
D. carolinianum var. carolinianum - Widespread in central and eastern North America
D. carolinianum var. vimineum - Native to coastal areas of the United States and Mexico
D. carolinianum var. virescens - Native to the Central United States


Delphinium glaucum, known by the common names Sierra larkspur, mountain larkspur, and glaucous larkspur, is a species of wildflower in the genus Delphinium, which belongs to the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae. It is native to western North America from Arizona to Alaska, growing in moist mountainous environments such as riverbanks and meadows.
Although Ewan, in his survey of North American Delphinium, treated D. glaucum and D. brownii as two separate species, some taxonomists now seem inclined to treat D. brownii as a local form of D. glaucum. However, the matter does not yet appear to be completely resolved.
D. glaucum is a "tall" larkspur, which sprouts from one to several tall, stout, pale green erect stems which may approach 3 metres (9.8 ft) in height. The lobed leaves are generally found only at the base of the plant. The top of the stem is a large inflorescence which may itself be over 1 metre (3.3 ft) long. It usually contains over fifty widely spaced flowers, with each flower on a pedicel a few centimeters long. The sepals are flat and extend to the sides or point forward. The sepals and petals are dark blue to deep purple, although the top two petals may be lighter in color to almost white. They may be somewhat wrinkly. The spur is about two centimeters long.
Larkspurs have long been associated with livestock poisoning in North America, and D. glaucum (under the name D. brownii) has caused problems in the rangelands of Alberta, in western Canada.


The earliest phytochemical research on D.glaucum (then known as D. brownii ) was that of Richard Manske, working at the National Research Laboratories in Ottawa, Canada, in 1938, who isolated an alkaloid that he was unable to purify adequately, and the common plant-sugar, mannitol. A few years later, John Goodson, at the Wellcome Chemical Research Laboratories in London, England, isolated what he believed to be the same alkaloid, in purer form, from seeds of Delphinium elatum, and named it "methyl-lycaconitine".
Further work to identify the chemical constituents of D. glaucum (still called D. brownii) was carried out by Michael Benn and his co-workers at the National Research Council laboratories in Ottawa, Canada in 1963. These chemists confirmed the presence of methyllycaconitine in the plant, and also isolated another, structurally related diterpenoid alkaloid, which they named browniine.
Delphinium glaucum (still under the name D. brownii) was studied again by Mike Benn's research group, at the University of Calgary, in Canada, with the objective of identifying the compounds responsible for its toxicity. These researchers again found methyllycaconitine and browniine in the plant, but also a closely related alkaloid, browniine-14-acetate, as well as the alkaloid magnoflorine, belonging to the aporphine class. Of these, methyllycaconitine was found to be the most toxic.


Delphinium nudicaule, known by the common names canyon larkspur, red larkspur, orange larkspur, and canyon delphinium, is a flowering herbaceous perennial plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. It is native to low-elevation canyons and slopes, foothills, and mountain ranges of California, US, from the Sierra Nevada to the California Coast Ranges, and of Oregon. It grows below 6,500 feet (2,000 m).
The plant sends up thin and long 1–2 feet (0.30–0.61 m) stems with finely dissected leaves. It bears attractive larkspur flowers in shades of red and orange that are generally pollinated by hummingbirds. D. nudicaule readily hybridizes with several other species of Delphinium.


The root of Delphinium nudicaule has been historically used as a medicinal narcotic, chiefly by the Mendocino Native Americans of the Yuki tribe.
The Concow tribe called the plant sō-ma’ in the Konkow language, and sō-ma’ yem (root).


The first phytochemical study of this plant was carried out by Michael Benn and Palaniappan Kulanthaivel at the University of Calgary in Canada. These researchers reported the presence of a number of diterpenoid alkaloids: hetisine, 2-dehydrohetisine, 6-deoxydelcorine, dictyocarpine, dihydrogadesine, methyllycaconitine, lycoctonine, takaosamine, nudicaulamine, nudicauline, and nudicaulidine.
The presence of these alkaloids in D. nudicaule implies that the plant is likely to be quite poisonous. The LD₅₀ for MLA is ~5 mg/kg, i.v., in the mouse, and the LD₅₀ for nudicauline is ~3 mg/kg, i.v., in the mouse.


Delphinium parishii, the desert larkspur, is a flowering plant in the family Ranunculaceae (the buttercup family) native to the Mojave Desert, in the southwestern United States and northwest Mexico.  In Southern California it is also found in the Tehachapi Mountains, Transverse Ranges, and eastern Sierra Nevada.
It is found in desert scrub between 300–2,500 metres (980–8,200 ft) of elevation in California, Arizona, southwestern Utah, and Baja California.


Delphinium parishi is a perennial herbaceous plant growing to 17–60 cm tall, rarely to 100 cm tall, with palmately lobed leaves which often shrivel by the time of flowering.
The flowers vary across the species' range, from dark blue to purplish near Joshua Tree National Park, sky-blue in the eastern and northern parts of the desert, and pink in some areas in California. Each flower can be multi-hued as well, often with upper true petals white, nectar spur darker blue or purple, and sepals light blue with darker tips. Flowering occurs between April and June.


Delphinium tricorne, known by the common name dwarf larkspur, is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family. It is native to the eastern United States, where it is the most common Delphinium found. It is found in rich mesic forests, often over calcareous rocks.


It a perennial that sends up long, stringy thin stems with few leaves and bears attractive flowers in shades of blue.


The diterpenoid alkaloids lycoctonine and tricornine (otherwise known as lycoctonine-18-O-acetate) have been isolated from D. tricorne. The toxicology and pharmacology of lycoctonine have been quite well studied, but there is only limited information available concerning the biological properties of tricornine. Both alkaloids have neuro-muscular blocking properties, and D. tricorne should be treated as a potentially poisonous plant. This species has long been regarded as poisonous to livestock.


The sooty grouse (Dendragapus fuliginosus) is a species of forest-dwelling grouse native to North America's Pacific Coast Ranges. It is closely related to the dusky grouse (Dendragapus obscurus), and the two were previously considered a single species, the blue grouse.


Adults have a long square tail, light gray at the end. Adult males are mainly dark with a yellow throat air sac surrounded by white, and a yellow wattle over the eye during display. Adult females are mottled brown with dark brown and white marks on the underparts.


These birds forage on the ground, or in trees in winter. In winter, they mainly eat fir and douglas-fir needles, occasionally also hemlock and pine needles; in summer, other green plants (Pteridium, Salix), berries (Gaultheria, Mahonia, Rubus, Vaccinium), and insects (particularly ants, beetles, grasshoppers) are more important. Chicks are almost entirely dependent on insect food for their first ten days.


Sooty grouse are experiencing some population decline from habitat loss at the southern end of its range in southern California.


Dendrobium cunninghamii, commonly known as winika, pekapeka, Christmas orchid, bamboo orchid or ladies slipper orchid, is a species of epiphytic orchids that is endemic to New Zealand. It is commonly found growing in rainforest in the North, South, Stewart and Chatham Islands and normally flowers in summer and early autumn.


Dendrobium cunninghamii is an epiphytic or lithophytic orchid herb that forms tufts up 2.0 m (7 ft) wide with wiry, cane-like stems up to 1.0 m (3 ft) long and 7 mm (0.3 in) in diameter. The rhizomes are similar to the stems and produce many roots. The leaves are narrow linear, 30–50 mm (1–2 in) long and about 3 mm (0.12 in) wide. Up to eight flowers 20–25 mm (0.8–1 in) white are borne on a short lateral flowering stem. The petals and sepals are white but some parts of the labellum are rose pink, purplish and green. The labellum has three lobes. The side lobes are erect, relatively small and pink or purple and the middle lobe has four or five greenish or yellowish ridges along its midline. Flowering occurs from December to January.