Today we came across Wild Delphinium, the latin name being Delphinium trolliifolium. I have never seen so many delphinium in my life. There were hundreds of them growing right in town near a small stream and no one had any idea they were even there. It was like walking into an enchanted fairyland. I remember that delphinium means dolphin in Greek so I decided to refresh my memory and do a bit of research on this magical plant. It is poisonous, so it is not something you're going to want to take home and put in your salad. You may remember Homer's Ode to Apollo and the Delphi Temple of Oracles. Delphis meaning Dolphin which was sacred to sailors because they would guide ships during storms. The prophetess Pythia, the oracle of Delphi guided souls through the emotional storms in their life. Oregon's Wild Delphinium flowers are marine blue, they grow in the wetlands. This Delphinium trolliifoliumis is not one to be making a flower essence because it has toxic amounts of diterpene alkaloids and poisons to dogs, cats, cows and humans, yet it is a good pollinator and the hummingbirds love it. Delphinium got it's name because they thought that the bud with a spur looked like a dolphin's nose. It was once used as a cure to repel lice and a cure for scorpion stings.
