Short, erect plant with spike of blue, purple, blue and white, or white flowers.  Flowers irregular, with 5 lobes in front and a spur in the back.  Leaves deeply divided into narrow lobes arranged like the fingers of a hand.  Fruit a 3-parted capsule.  Each section splits open to release seeds.  Blooms in early to mid spring.

Beautiful native of rich woods, especially on rocky slopes. In Wildwood, very common in the woods on the western slope, carpeting the ground under the trees.

Tall larkspur (D. exaltatum)  is taller, has smaller flowers, and blooms in the summer in more open areas.