Aquilegia canadensis
Aquilegia coerulea
American columbine, ancolie du Canada, Canadian columbine, Colorado columbine, red columbine, wild columbine
Colorado blue columbine
15-90 cm.
15-80 cm.
2x-ternately compound, 7-30 cm, much shorter than stems;
leaflets green adaxially, 17-52 mm, not viscid;
primary petiolules 17-93 mm (leaflets not crowded), glabrous or pilose, sometimes somewhat viscid.
(1-)2(-3)×-ternately compound, 9-37 cm, much shorter than stems;
leaflets green adaxially, to 13-42(-61) mm, not viscid;
primary petiolules (10-)20-70 mm (leaflets not crowded), glabrous or occasionally pilose.
pendent;
sepals divergent from floral axis, red or apex green, lance-ovate to oblong-ovate, 8-18 × 3-8 mm, apex broadly acute to acuminate;
petals: spurs red, straight, ± parallel to divergent, 13-25 mm, stout (at least proximally), abruptly narrowed near middle, blades pale yellow or yellow-green, oblong to rounded, 5-9 × 4-8 mm;
stamens 15-23 mm.
erect;
sepals perpendicular to floral axis, white, blue, or sometimes pink, elliptic-ovate to lance-ovate, 26-51 × 8-23 mm, apex obtuse to acute or acuminate;
petals: spurs white, blue, or sometimes pink, straight, ± parallel or divergent, 28-72 mm, slender, evenly tapered from base, blades white, oblong or spatulate, 13-28 × 5-14 mm;
stamens 13-24 mm.
15-31 mm;
beak 10-18 mm.
20-30 mm;
beak 8-12 mm.
= 14.
Aquilegia canadensis
Aquilegia coerulea
P. A. Munz divided this species into five varieties, based on size of the plants, sepals, and leaflets and whether the leaves are 2-3×-ternately compound. The variation in size of these organs is not discontinuous or even bimodal, however, and I have not seen any material with 3×-ternately compound leaves. For this reason, no varieties are recognized here. The name Aquilegia canadensis var. hybrida Hooker has been misapplied to this species; the type specimen actually belongs to A. brevistyla (B. Boivin 1953).
Aquilegia canadensis has also been reported from New Brunswick, but the specimen has been destroyed and the species has never been recollected in the province.
Native Americans prepare infusions from various parts of plants of Aquilegia canadensis to treat heart trouble, kidney problems, headaches, bladder problems, and fever, and as a wash for poison ivy; pulverized seeds were used as love charms; and a compound was used to detect bewitchment (D. E. Moerman 1986).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Varieties 4 (4 in the flora).
Aquilegia coerulea shows considerable geographic variation in flower color and in size of different floral organs, reflecting adaptation to different pollinators in different parts of its range (R. B. Miller 1981). Four weakly differentiated varieties are recognized.
Aquilegia coerulea var. coerulea and A. coerulea var. ochroleuca intergrade to some extent; northwestern populations of var. coerulea often contain individuals with pale flowers, and eastern populations of var. ochroleuca often contain blue-flowered plants.
The Gosivte tribe chewed the seeds of Aquilegia coerulea or used an infusion made from the roots to treat abdominal pains or as a panacea (D. E. Moerman 1986).
Most authors have spelled the epithet "caerulea"; "coerulea" is the original spelling.
Columbine (as Aquilegia caerulea) is the state flower of Colorado.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Petal blades 13–17 mm. | var. alpina |
1. Petal blades 19–28 mm. | → 2 |
2. Sepals medium to deep blue. | var. coerulea |
2. Sepals white, pale blue, or pink. | → 3 |
3. Spurs 36–54 mm (means of populations 40–48 mm); stamens 13–18 mm; Utah to Nevada, Montana. | var. ochroleuca |
3. Spurs 45–72 mm (means of populations 50–58 mm); stamens 18–24 mm; Utah, Arizona. | var. pinetorum |
Go Botany
IL Wildflowers
KS Wildflowers
MD Biodiversity
MI Flora
MN Wildflowers
MO Plants
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
CalFlora
PNW Herbaria
